
Glass 
Book 



COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT 




IN THE DRUG COUNTRY 
A Characteristic Detail in the Piedmont 



Ube Centura Boofes of mseful Science 



The Story of Drugs 

A POPULAR EXPOSITION OF 

, THEIR ORIGIN, PREPARATION 

AND COMMERCIAL IMPORTANCE 



BY 
HENRY C. FULLER 



ILLUSTRATED WITH 
PHOTOGRAPHS 




NEW YORK 
THE CENTURY CO. 

1922 



<3$ 



^ X 



1 



Copyright, 1922, by 
The Century Co. 



PRINTED IN U. S. A. 



APR 2b 1922 
;iA659873 



INTRODUCTION 

The presentation in popular form of facts of in- 
terest connected with the production of medicines is 
timely, because of an increasing desire on the part of 
the layman for a deeper insight into scientific and pro- 
fessional subjects generally, and because of the many 
fallacies and erroneous beliefs that have hitherto pre- 
vailed regarding the various phases of the drug busi- 
ness. When discussing the character of drugs and 
their properties with the average non-scientist, one is 
immediately struck with the fact that a mental con- 
fusion prevails as to what medicinal agents really 
are, where they come from, and how far they may be 
reasonably expected to go in alleviating the diseased 
conditions to which humanity is susceptible. 

In the course of a year the specialist, if he is known 
to be familiar with a branch of science involving the 
public welfare, will be called upon to answer a thou- 
sand or more questions, widely divergent in character 
yet pregnant with significance, and demonstrating the 
craving for knowledge displayed by civilization of the 
present day. 

The topics and the subject-matter making up this 
volume have been inspired by the interrogations and 
discussions that a scientist, actively engaged in his 
profession, has encountered during two decades of al- 
most daily contact with professional men of high and 



INTRODUCTION 

low degree, and with the various zones of culture mak- 
ing up our citizen population. 

The work is not intended as a scientific treatise ; in 
fact, that is exactly what has been avoided. The ob- 
ject has been to present, as far as possible, in plain 
every-day terms and phraseology a story of the vari- 
ous phases of the drug industry, based, as before 
stated, on the diversified inquiries of non-scientific 
persons. 

The book is divided into chapters; but, since the 
volume is a collection of expositions rather than a 
connected narrative, there has been no attempt to ar- 
range the material in periodical sequence. 

First there is a short outline telling what drugs are 
and where they originate. This is followed by a his- 
torical sketch of the development of the medicine- 
making industry. And finally there is a detailed ac- 
count of how medicines are made. 

The alcoholic question has set agog this nation as 
well as the entire world, and because of the many er- 
roneous ideas prevalent about the significance of alco- 
hol and alcoholic medicines, it has been deemed ex- 
pedient to devote some space to defining the true status 
of alcohol in relation to the drug and medicine indus- 
try. Similarly, though perhaps to a lesser degree, the 
popular mind has been agitated by a vague knowledge 
of the dope evil, the extent of its effect, and the char- 
acter of the offending agents. In view of the wide- 
spread interest in this subject, an account of what 
dope actually is, and is not, has been presented in. 
such a way as to dispel many popular fallacies con- 



INTRODUCTION 

cerning various drugs that at one time or another 
have been considered to possess habit-forming proper- 
ties. 

Several years ago agitation in the scientific and 
popular press produced such a widespread interest in 
drug cultivation that it appeared as if one person in 
every ten were planning to embark on this nebulous 
avocation. Fortunately for their bank accounts, the 
interest became more or less passive. A short ac- 
count, based on personal observation of what is ac- 
tually being done in the artificial propagation of vege- 
table drugs, defining the conditions existing at the 
present time, and dispelling the romantic visions of 
the enthusiasts, comprises the chapter "Farming for 
Medicine." 

The extent to which the medical world depends on 
remedial agents of natural origin, with an account of 
the drug-collecting industry of our Southern moun- 
tain districts, has been made the subject of one 
chapter. 

No other feature of the drug business has aroused 
and maintained the public interest to the same de- 
gree as the patent-medicine situation. No other phase 
of the entire industry has been so misunderstood and 
misrepresented. An endeavor has been made to point 
out the truth about patent medicines, to differentiate 
between the fake products and the legitimate old-line 
proprietaries, and to define the actual status of these 
household remedies in the economy of the nation. 

Coincident with a discussion of popular remedies 
comes, naturally, a consideration of the general medi- 



INTRODUCTION 

cal supplies kept in the home for treating numerous 
simple ailments, and the extent to which it is expedi- 
ent to indulge in self-medication. In this connection 
emphasis has been placed upon the importance of 
prophylaxis, and the relation of insect and animal life 
in the spread of disease. 

The growing importance of vaccines and serum- 
therapy makes it expedient to explain the character- 
istics and differences between antitoxins and vac- 
cines or immunizing agents; and the advent of those 
mystical bodies known as vitamines, and the wide 
popular curiosity about them, would make any mod- 
ern work incomplete without a short reference to their 
life histories in so far as it is possible to define them. 

Not to confine the account too rigidly to drugs and 
medicines, a diversion has been made to include a 
short chapter on cosmetics and other beautifiers that 
function in the daily routine of women. These prep- 
arations now have an established place in our national 
life, and are no longer to be considered in the nature of 
luxuries, but as necessary adjuncts to the comfort and 
satisfaction of modern civilization. 

That emotional malady, hay fever, which reflects the 
neurotic tendency of our national life, has ever been a 
fruitful subject of discourse. Its periodical recur- 
rence, its transient discomfort, usually without per- 
manent after-effects, and its stubborn resistance to 
remedial agents characterize it as an anomaly in the 
list of human ailments. Because of these facts and 
the popular interest in its manifestations, and fur- 
thermore because a new and rational mode of treat- 



INTRODUCTION 

ment has come into prominence, it has been thought 
not out of place to devote a few words in its behalf 
in a book that is not, strictly speaking, a medical 
dissertation. 

While the work was in process of compilation, a 
prominent attorney suggested the pertinence of in- 
cluding some observations on the effect of legislation 
on the manufacture and traffic in drugs and medicines, 
especially in view of the author's intimate association 
with administrative matters of this nature. 

In certain respects the drug business has been vir- 
tually revolutionized in recent years, owing to the 
passage of far-reaching laws, such as the Food and 
Drug and Prohibition Acts, and the increasing ac- 
tivities of the authorities in the several common- 
wealths and municipalities. The brief outline of this 
subject that makes up the final chapter embodies the 
salient features occurring to an impartial observer of 
the reactions manifested by this important industry 
to the numerous regulations and restraints that have 
been imposed upon it in the past two decades. 

Matters of a controversial nature have no place in a 
presentation of this kind, and, though the drug and 
medical cosmos teems with debatable questions, their 
inclusion would only warp the object aimed at, and 
they have been intentionally avoided. 

Through a wide personal acquaintance in the pro- 
fessional and business world of drugs and medicines, 
the author has had a rare opportunity to obtain a 
wealth of data, both historical and informational, and 



INTRODUCTION 

to the men who have so cordially extended their as- 
sistance his indebtedness is heartily acknowledged. 

In order that the presentation might be compre- 
hensive to the non-scientist and as free as possible 
from obscure technical phraseology, the paragraphs 
have been carefully perused by Mrs. Fuller, Mrs. 
Mulford, and a number of other friends of non-pro- 
fessional tendencies. Their suggestions and ideas 
have been the means of clarifying many descriptions 
that otherwise might have gone over the head of the 
reader. 

The author's appreciation of their devotion to the 
work and the assistance rendered is gratefully ac- 
knowledged, as is also the task of assembling the data 
and transcribing the manuscript by Miss Ada Whipp, 
whose able cooperation has been the means of bring- 
ing the work to a prompt and successful completion. 



Acknowledgment is made to the following for the illustrations ap- 
pearing in this work. 

Mr. Ernest L. Crandall, Washington, D. C, for the frontispiece. 

Mr. Herbert S. Barber, Washington, D. C, for pictures of drug 
plants growing in the wild state. 

Dr. W. W. Stockberger, Bureau of Plant Industry, Washington, 
D. C, for pictures of drug plants under cultivation. 

Mr. Frederick L. Lewton, Smithsonian Institute, Washington, D. C, 
for views of special subjects taken in the exhibit of the De- 
partment of Arts and Industry. 

Dr. Lyman F. Kebler, Bureau of Chemistry, Washington, D. C, for 
views of special subjects relating to the drug industry. 

Mr. W. E. SafTord, Bureau of Plant Industry, Washington, D. C, 
"for picture of coca bag of prehistoric Inca. 

Mr. E. G. Eberle, Philadelphia, Pa., for portraits of scientists and 
educators. 

Mr. M. V. Linder, Bureau of Internal Revenue, Washington, D. C, 
for privilege of photographing opium and coca exhibits. 

Eli Lilly & Company, Indianapolis, Ind., Parke, Davis & Company, 
Detroit, Mich., H. K. Mulford Company, Philadelphia, Pa., 
A. M. Todd Company, Kalamazoo, Mien., Johnson & Johnson 
Co., New Brunswick, N. J., Pinkham Medicine Co., Lynn, 
Mass., Swift Specific Co., Atlanta, Ga., S. B. Penick & Co., 
New York City, for views illustrating typical operations in 
handling crude drugs and the manufacture of medicines, an- 
titoxins, vaccines and essential oils. 



CONTENTS 

CHAPTER PAGE 

I What Drugs Are and Where They Come From . . 3 

II Beginnings and Accomplishments of the Medicine 

Industry 18 

III How Medicines Are Made 46 

IV The Role of Alcohol 68 

V Farming for Medicine 98 

VI Patent Medicines: Their Place in the Economy of 

the Nation 123 

VII Nature's Gift to Mankind 141 

VIII Vaccines and Serum-Therapy 166 

IX In the Spirit World of Medicine: Vitamines . . 179 

X Dope and not Dope 204 

XI Self-Medication — The Family Medicine Chest . . 242 

XII Paint, Powder, and Rouge: The Height of the 

Complexion 275 

XIII Hay Fever: The Malady of Strenuous America . . 305 

XIV Legislation and Its Effect on the Drug Business . 317 
Index 345 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 

In the drug country Frontispiece 

FACING 
PAGE 

Drying a leaf drug in the sun 4 

Drying house with trays for curing drugs by artificial heat . 4 
Commercial packages of crude drugs as they occur on the 

market 4 

"Coal tar" drugs and their ancestry 5 

The relation of alcohol to the medicine industry 12 

A field of the opium poppy 13 

How foreign drugs are shipped 13 

Hippocrates 20 

Galen 20 

An example of prehistoric surgery with flint trephining instru- 
ment employed 20 

A drug-producing enterprise at the busy season 21 

A few of the scientists and educators responsible for the high 

character of modern pharmacy 28 

H. H. Rusby; Joseph P. Remington; John Uri Lloyd; 
James H. Beal; C. H. La Wall; S. L. Hilton 
Founders of the drug and medicine making business as it ex- 
ists today 29 

E. R. Squibb; George Rosengarten; Eli Lilly; 
J. L. Hopkins; A. M. Todd; H. C. Parke 
Percolators used for removing the valuable constituents of 

crude drugs 48 

A type of jacketed percolator for hot extractions . . . . 48 

Bottling medicine automatically 49 

Machine for making capsules 49 

First automatic tablet-punching machine used in America and 

still in use 64 

Modern rotary punch tablet machine 64 

Mould for making tablet triturates 64 

How pills are made 65 

A row of pill machines; a single machine; coating the pills 

Rodney H. True 100 

W. W. Stockberger 100 

Experimental garden on a modern drug farm 100 

Large-scale peppermint cultivation 101 

Peppermint oil distillery 101 

Cultivating ginseng under shade 108 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGE 

Field of first-year digitalist plants 108 

A field of belladonna under cultivation 109 

Curing belladonna 109 

Cannabis drug under cultivation 120 

Hydrastis canadensis or golden seal 120 

Ginseng leaf and root 120 

Odd-shaped ginseng roots 120 

Henbane shrub 121 

American wormseed tops 121 

Plant of the capsicum pepper 121 

Cultivated horehound 121 

Mandrake or may apple in its native woodland 144 

Chionanthus virginica 144 

Turkey corn and trillium 145 

Wild valerian 145 

Lady's slipper plant 145 

Chaulmoogra trees growing in Burma 160 

Fruiting branch of chaulmoogra 160 

F. B. Power 160 

Wild ginger or Canada snake root 161 

Sanguinaria canadensis or blood root 161 

Wild digitalis 161 

Flourishing clump of cypripedium 161 

Edward Jenner . 168 

Housing on a modern vaccine farm 168 

The manufacture of vaccine 169 

Preparing a heifer for inoculation; vaccinating a calf with 

cow pox; removing the virus 

Separating the serum from the blood corpuscles 176 

Bottles of antitoxin 176 

Filling the antitoxin syringes 176 

The manufacture of antitoxin 177 

Injecting the horse with toxin; drawing off the antitoxic 

blood 
Coca bag of prehistoric Inca found with exhumed body . . . 240 

Opium as it enters commerce 240 

Tricks of the dope peddlers 240 

An inoffensive looking book; the same book open 

The opium layout of the Oriental 241 

Articles and instruments used by the Occidental addict . . . 241 

Harvey W. Wiley .328 

Wayne B. Wheeler 328 

Hamilton Wright 328 

A coca plantation in Peru 329 

Branch of coca shrub 329 



The Story of Drugs 



The Story of Drugs 

CHAPTER I 

WHAT DRUGS ABE AND WHERE THEY COME FROM 

The public has always shown considerable interest 
and curiosity about drugs and medicines. This is 
partly due to the shroud of mystery with which the 
family doctor and the corner druggist have veiled the 
character of the contents of bottles and powders that 
have found their way to the bedsides of almost all of 
us at sometime or other in our lives. The American 
people are keen for anything suggestive of a riddle, 
and the hieroglyphics with which a physician covers 
the face of a little slip of paper, later to be translated 
into a bottle of cough syrup or headache powder by 
the druggist, stir our imagination. We read with 
avidity any article dealing with the subject of patent 
medicines, regardless of its inaccuracy. We relegate 
for later consideration such subjects as the tariff and 
the latest revolution, while we peruse the column of 
the morning paper describing the dozen or so inebri- 
ates who have been captured the night before — sadly 
the worse, so the account goes, because of too intimate 
association with this "tonic" -and that "hair wash"; 

3 



4 THE STORY OF DRUGS 

and no daily paper is now complete without a section 
devoted to what Dr. Blank says. 

The popular interest in drugs has of late years been 
stimulated by several factors, and more particularly 
by two, one of which was the publication of Mrs. Gene 
Stratton Porter's book, "The Harvester/ ' the other 
the outbreak of the war in Europe. For most of us, 
the idea of obtaining anything from woods and fields 
and subduing it to cultivation has a keen fascination, 
and in the minds of many persons those drugs and 
medicines that do not come from "coal-tar" come 
from the forest. In the demoralization of ocean traffic 
that came with the war, the fact that the continued 
supply of many important drug commodities was 
seriously menaced became a matter of daily mention 
in the newspapers ; and interest in the subject became 
almost universal. It possessed a certain element of 
romance, made excellent dinner conversation, and was 
discussed at almost any gathering where two or more 
people were assembled, much the same as prohibition 
later became the popular topic. Few persons, how- 
ever, really knew enough about the subject to discuss 
it intelligently, and it was not uncommon for people 
to ask if aspirin grew on a bush, or to inquire how 
drugs could be grown in America when it was under- 
stood that Germany had them all patented. 

The term "drug, ,, to some people, carries with it 
the idea of a narcotic — something taken to relieve pain 
or to put one to sleep — to be spoken of in an under- 
tone, with a shrug of the shoulders. To others it 
means an individual chemical or a crude product that 
is used in preparing a medicine or in compounding a 




DRYING A LEAF DRUG IN THE SUN 
Coca Being Prepared for Market in Peru. 

Photograph by O. F. Cook. Courtesy and copyright 
by National Geographic Society, Washington. DC. 



DRYING HOUSE WITH TRAYS FOR CUR- 
ING DRUGS BY ARTIFICIAL HEAT 




COMMERCIAL PACKAGES OF CRUDE DRUGS AS THEY OCCUR ON THE MARKET 




monium sui.mm-F£RTiuz[iti 



THE COAL TA 



FAMILY TREE 



COAL TAR" DRUGS AND THEIR ANCESTRY 



WHAT DRUGS ARE 5 

prescription. To still others it means any medicine ; 
and this comes nearer to being a true definition of 
what a drug really is, for it is any substance or mix- 
ture of substances used as a medicine, or that enters 
into the composition of a remedial agent. 

Before discussing the different classes of drugs, it 
will be expedient to note a few general points con- 
cerning the localities in which they originate, to 
counteract the popular notion that the United States 
is entirely dependent on foreign sources for its sup- 
plies. At the outbreak of the war the prevailing 
opinion seemed to be that Germany furnished us with 
the majority of our drug supplies. As a matter of 
fact, the Central Empires produced comparatively 
few individual staples ; though the commerce in drugs 
that were collected or produced in northern Europe 
and Asia, and to a certain extent in Africa and South 
America, was centered in Hamburg. In other words, 
we depended on Germany for drugs to a considerable 
degree, not because they were produced there, but 
because they were brought there from all parts of the 
world, with Hamburg as the center of the export trade. 
Triest, also, was an important center for the articles 
collected in southern Europe and northern Africa. 
Therefore, when the ports of the Central Empires 
were blockaded, and supplies that had been coming 
here uninterruptedly for many years were suddenly 
shut off, it became necessary for American importers 
to make connections with dealers at the ports of origin. 

An example of the control formerly exercised by the 
Germans is illustrated by the case of santonin, a popu- 
lar remedy. This substance is a chemical individual, 



6 THE STORY OF DRUGS 

the active principle of the levant wormseed or san- 
tonica. The plant producing the levant wormseed 
grows in the wildest parts of the Russian steppes, far 
from any seaport or commercial center, and this is 
the only place where it has grown profusely enough 
to be commercially important. Its value was long ago 
recognized by the Russian government, and so zeal- 
ously did it guard its monopoly that no plants or viable 
seeds were permitted to leave that country. The 
plant is a species of artemisia, closely related to 
wormwood, or absinthe, and to the numerous species 
of artemisias that run wild on our Western plains and 
mountain-sides, but it is the only artemisia that con- 
tains santonin. The so-called " levant wormseed' ' is 
not a seed at all, but the immature flower or bud, about 
the size of a large mustard seed, and it is gathered 
before it expands. The concession to gather this 
"seed," and to extract the santonin from it, was 
formerly sold annually by the Russian government; 
and for years the Germans bought the rights, thus 
controlling the traffic. 

Since 1914 London has to a large degree succeeded 
Hamburg as a drug center, and Marseilles also has 
become an important port of collection and shipment. 
Amsterdam has always been a drug center, partly 
because for many years the Dutch have controlled the 
trade in cinchona bark, the source of quinin, the value 
and volume of business of which is probably greater 
than that of any other individual drug, with the pos- 
sible exception of opium. 

There was another reason for the popular concep- 
tion of Germany's monopoly of the drug field. Some 



WHAT DRUGS ARE 7 

two decades ago there began to pour out of that 
country a great variety of so-called coal-tar products, 
some of which were of considerable merit as remedial 
agents, and are still extensively used. The develop- 
ment of substances of this nature was due to the fact 
that the German universities were specializing in 
chemical research and the problem of synthesizing 
quinin was receiving a great deal of attention. 

In the course of this experimental work many new 
substances were produced, among them several well 
known chemical individuals, such as antipyrin, antife- 
brin, phenacetin, and aspirin. The commercial pro- 
duction of these coal-tar products was fostered by the 
Germans by means of the cooperation existing be- 
tween certain basic industries of that country — 
namely, those concerned with the manufacture of dyes, 
explosives, and alcohol. In this cooperation for the ad- 
vancement of German industry and trade as a whole, 
the new substances, as fast as they were evolved, were 
protected by patents at home and abroad, thus estab- 
lishing the monopoly in their trade. 

The commodities used as remedial agents, and which 
enter into the composition of the vast number of com- 
plex formulas dispensed by the physician and sold 
at the apothecary's, are divided into several different 
classes, belonging to two large orders familiarly 
known as inorganic and organic. There are metals, 
salts, and similar chemicals which in chemical lan- 
guage we refer to as inorganic substances, and which 
are represented by mercury, iodine, sulphur, iodide of 
potash, chlorate of potash, the bromides, sodium phos- 
phate, calomel (a salt of mercury), bichloride of mer- 



8 THE STORY OF DRUGS 

cury, hydrogen peroxide, bismuth salts, boracic acid, 
carbonate of iron (used in Blaud's mass), magnesium 
sulphate (epsom salts), ammonium chloride, and many 
others, all of which have been manufactured in this 
country for many years. 

Then, there is a large class of drugs composed of 
the three elements carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, 
united in different ways, the nature of which is very 
complicated, and others containing those three ele- 
ments together with nitrogen, which as a general prop- 
osition do not occur naturally, but are manufactured, 
and are therefore usually spoken of as synthetics. 
These belong to the great order of chemical individ- 
uals known as the organic series. (It might be said, 
in passing, that numerically by far the larger propor- 
tion of all crude drugs and active principles used in 
medicine belong to this order.) Some though by no 
means all of these are the " coal-tar derivatives ' ' to 
which reference has already been made. Among the 
organic compounds should be mentioned glycerin, nov- 
ocain, carbolic acid, antipyrin, phenacetin, salvarsan, 
chloroform, chloral, iodoform, and aristol, though the 
four latter substances contain in their make-up cer- 
tain elements — namely, chlorine in the first two, and 
iodine in the latter — which are, strictly speaking, ele- 
ments of the inorganic branch of the family. Most 
of these substances were being made in this country 
prior to our entry into the World War. 

Another large and very important group embraces 
the products of the vegetable kingdom which are them- 
selves used as drugs, or which contain valuable prin- 
ciples that may be extracted and purified. The parts 



WHAT DRUGS ARE 9 

of the different plants entering the trade may be 
leaves, roots, barks, seeds, juices, resins, gums, the 
whole herbs themselves, or fungous growths that live 
on the plants. Thus we have the leaves of the bella- 
donna, digitalis, coca, and senna; the roots of man- 
drake, aconite, rhubarb, sarsaparilla, and gentian; 
the barks of the cinchona and cascara; the seeds of 
nux vomica ; the juices of the aloes and of the poppy, 
the latter being known as opium ; the resin of Canada 
balsam, guaiac, and asaf etida ; the balsams of the trop- 
ical trees known as Peru and tolu ; the gum of acacia ; 
the whole herb of bone set ; and the fungus of the rye 
head, known as ergot. 

The valuable principles yielded by these botanical 
drugs all belong to the organic order of chemicals. 
Some of the more important active principles are 
strychnin, which comes from nux vomica; morphin 
from opium; atropin from belladonna; cocain, from 
coca; and quinin, from cinchona. CafTein is another 
valuable medicine extracted from a vegetable sub- 
stance, in this case tea dust or sweepings being the 
crude material. It is brought here from China by the 
shipload, and the cafTein extracted therefrom goes 
into headache mixtures and the ever-increasing pop- 
ular beverage, Coca Cola and similar soda-fountain 
drinks. Camphor is obtained from the branches and 
twigs of the camphor-laurel, a large tree growing in 
southern China and Japan ; and menthol is frozen out 
of peppermint oil, the latter being distilled from 
a variety of the herb indigenous to Japan. 

Mention should also be made of castor oil, which is 
expressed from the seed of the castor-bean. Several 



10 THE STORY OF DRUGS 

large firms devoted to this industry are within our 
boundaries. The seeds are gathered in India and 
sent to America by the shipload. Between 1860 and 
1890 the castor-bean was an important crop in some 
of our Southwestern States, but in recent years, ex- 
cept for a brief period during the war, its cultivation 
has been virtually abandoned. During the war there 
was a great demand for castor oil as a lubricant for 
air-plane motors. Chaulmoogra oil, which has been 
used for some time, though only recently featured as 
a remedy for leprosy, is a butter-like substance ex- 
pressed from the seeds of certain trees growing in 
Burma and adjacent territory. The extraction and 
purification of most of the active principles just men- 
tioned has been carried out in this country for a great 
many years. 

A few important medicinal agents are derived from 
the animal kingdom, notably cod-liver oil, pepsin, ad- 
renalin, diphtheria antitoxin, and vaccine. 

An attempt has been made to classify the staple 
drugs with which most of us are acquainted. A large 
proportion of the trade in medicines is concerned with 
those named or with preparations containing them. 
There are thousands of others that might be noted. 
Certain firms making specialties consume enormous 
quantities of some one commodity which may be but 
a small factor in the business of all the other firms 
in the trade. Ginseng, which is produced in great 
volume in this country, is used here scarcely at all, 
most of it being shipped to China and other Oriental 
countries. 

It will be interesting to make a brief survey of the 



WHAT DEUGS ARE 11 

geographical sources of some of the drugs. As has 
been observed, we draw our supplies from all of the 
natural kingdoms, animal, vegetable, and mineral, and 
the basic products or crude materials are taken to 
the collection centers and refining establishments from 
the mines, from the prairies and forests, from the sea- 
shore, and from packing plants and slaughter-houses. 
The supplies of bismuth, a brilliant, shiny, and very 
heavy metal which eventually is converted into the 
well known salts of that metal, the subcarbonate and 
subnitrate, are all obtained from vast mineral deposits 
in widely separated localities, one of which is in Aus- 
tria and the other in Ecuador. The commerce in this 
metal has been monopolized for many years, and the 
group controlling the mines has until very recently 
successfully prevented any competition, arbitrarily 
raising or lowering the price of bismuth, and in con- 
sequence its salts. Within the past decade, however, 
the recovery of bismuth as a by-product in the lead 
refineries of our Middle Western States has opened 
up a new source of supply of this metal, and the 
monopoly so long enjoyed by the foreign syndicate 
has been seriously menaced. 

Almost as complete as was the bismuth monopoly 
has been the monopoly in the trade of iodine, which is 
the basic element used in the manufacture of the 
iodides, iodoform, tincture of iodine, and the many 
hundreds of medicinal preparations depending on 
some form of iodine as one of the essential ingredi- 
ents. Iodine occurs in the salt deposits of Chile in 
the form of its sodium or potassium salt, the latter 
being separated out when the nitrate (saltpeter) is 



12 THE STORY OF DRUGS 

refined. From this crude sodium or potassium salt 
the element iodine is prepared. The only competition 
has been the iodine manufactured from the enormous 
acreages of giant kelp, a seaweed growing profusely 
in the vicinity of Japan and the British Isles. The 
burning of kelp and the subsequent recovery of iodine 
has not been a large factor in British industry for 
some time, but the Japanese product has been an im- 
portant element in the trade, and though the Chilean 
iodine might be marketed at a price that would be less 
than the cost of the manufacture of the seaweed prod- 
uct, the controlling interests in the Chilean iodine 
have usually kept the price at a figure that was high 
enough to allow the Japanese to sell at a fair profit. 
The business in the sale of both bismuth and iodine 
has for years centered in London. 

Mercury, the metallic element of calomel and bi- 
chloride, and one of the heaviest known substances, 
is a liquid that is smelted out of the cinnabar ores 
mined in California, Texas, and Sicily. Antimony, 
one of the basic components of tartar emetic, is mined 
in China, and from there shipped to this country in the 
form of black needles of antimony sulphide. Arsenic, 
which as the white oxide enters into the composition 
of pills of iron, arsenic and strychnin, and many hun- 
dreds of other formulas, as well as Fowler *s solution, 
is now a by-product in the smelting of copper, gold, 
and silver. Large and increasing quantities, more 
than sufficient for our entire needs in medicine, are 
produced in the United States. Boracic acid is pre- 
pared from the crude borax which is hauled out of 
Death Valley by the justly famous "Twenty-Mule 




"HE ALCOHOL \ FAMILY TRLi 

ALCOHOL 



THE RELATION OF ALCOHOL TO THE MEDICINE INDUSTRY 




A FIELD OF THE OPIUM POPPY 




BOW FOREIGN DKUGS ABB SHIPPED 

Bales of Sarsaparilla from Honduras 



WHAT DRUGS ARE 13 

Team" and is therefore a product of domestic manu- 
facture. 

Dolomite, the mineral from which epsom salt is 
made, occurs in huge quantities in several of our 
States. The drug is now practically a by-product of 
the manufacture of carbon dioxide for the soda-water 
trade. 

From coal-tar, which, as we all know, is a by-prod- 
uct of the manufacture of illuminating gas and coke, 
is recovered benzol and carbolic acid, the former the 
source of phenacetin and acetanilid, and the latter of 
salicylic acid and aspirin, and itself used as an anti- 
septic. The fractionating of coal-tar has been carried 
out in this country for many years. 

Turning now to the vegetable kingdom, which yields 
some of the most interesting and important drugs, 
we find that the world's supply of cinchona, or Peru- 
vian bark, comes almost entirely from Java. The 
forests of South America, up to 1850, were the only 
producing areas; but the threatened destruction of 
the species producing the drug led to commercial 
propagation in India, Ceylon, and Java. Recently the 
reported discovery of new forests in South America 
has opened up the possibility of this country again 
becoming a factor in the industry. 

Asiatic Turkey and Persia are the chief sources of 
medicinal opium. India and China were formerly 
large producers of the drug used in making smoking 
opium, but the traffic is now rigidly restricted in India 
and is supposed to be suppressed in China. 

Coca leaves, from which cocain is extracted, come 
from Peru, where the plant has been cultivated since 



14 THE STORY OF DRUGS 

before the dawn of history. Java will probably be an 
important source of supply in the future, since large 
plantations are being developed. 

Licorice root, which in quantity is one of our largest 
drug imports, is obtained from Asia Minor, the 
Levant, and southern Europe. Only about 10 per 
cent, of this drug is used in the medicine industry, the 
rest being extracted and made into licorice paste, 
which is incorporated into chewing tobacco. 

The leaf and the root of the belladonna plant, popu- 
larly called deadly nightshade (not the herb that 
grows in this country, commonly known as the deadly 
nightshade), are gathered in large quantities in south- 
ern Europe, and Austria especially, where the plant 
flourishes in the wild state. Belladonna itself is not 
used as a remedy for the eyes, as many persons sup- 
pose, but in the form of the extract (which is described 
in the next chapter), it enters into the composition of 
a great number of formulas of laxative pills and tab- 
lets and into belladonna plasters. Atropin, a chem- 
ical individual belonging to a group of complex or- 
ganic substances known as alkaloids, is one of the con- 
stituents of belladonna, and this alkaloid is separated 
from the crude drug and yields the medicating agent 
used by the eye doctor. At the beginning of the war 
there was a shortage of belladonna, but rapid culti- 
vation of the plant in the United States soon provided 
an adequate supply for our own use, and it was hoped 
that a permanent industry had been established. 
Since the cessation of hostilities the foreign supplies 
have again flooded the market, and at the present 
writing it is doubtful whether the belladonna-growers 



WHAT DRUGS ARE 15 

in this country can meet the competition of the 
cheaper and inferior drug. 

Digitalis, the purple fox-glove, an indispensable 
heart remedy, formerly came from southern and cen- 
tral Europe and the British Isles. Large quantities 
of the leaf were gathered in the Vosges, and impor- 
tations of another species, not the purple fox-glove, 
were received from Spain. The war shut off the for- 
eign supplies, and it has been reported that military 
operations virtually exterminated the plant in the 
Vosges district. Digitalis is indigenous in the States 
of Washington and Oregon, and desultory attempts 
have been made to establish its collection there, with 
moderate success. Cultivation of the leaf was aggres- 
sively prosecuted in Virginia and Minnesota, and, as 
the drug produced was superior to that obtained from 
the wild state, it jumped into immediate popularity, 
and with a certain class of trade is preferred even now 
to the cheaper drug that is again coming from Europe. 

For many years the world's supply of camphor 
came from Japan, and that country is still a dominant 
factor in the trade; but artificial camphor is now an 
article of commerce. Within recent years, also, plan- 
tations of camphor-trees have been established in 
Florida. Camphor imported into the United States 
averages 3,000,000 pounds annually, a large part of 
which is used in the manufacture of celluloid and mov- 
ing-picture films. 

Aloes, the bitter juice that exudes from a prickly- 
leaved tropical shrub, is imported from several sour- 
ces, the most common variety coming from Curacao 
in the Dutch West Indies. It is also produced in 



16 THE STORY OF DRUGS 

northwestern -and southern Africa. This drug is 
often collected and dried in monkey-skins. 

Referring briefly to some of the other staple crude 
botanical drugs, ergot is produced in Spain and 
Russia ; gentian in the mountainous region of southern 
Europe; sarsaparilla and ipecac in southern tropical 
America ; nux vomica in India and Cochin-China ; rhu- 
barb in China : and senna in Egypt and India. 

Of our American botanicals, attention has been 
called to ginseng, one of our indigenous plants. Man- 
drake root, yielded by the May-apple, is gathered in 
enormous quantities in the Central and Eastern 
States, sufficient for our own consumption and for 
export. Cascara sagrada is collected on the Pacific 
slope, and is used extensively here as well as large 
quantities shipped abroad. Hydrastis, or golden-seal 
root, formerly abundant in the wild state in the Ohio 
Valley, but now approaching extinction, is cultivated 
on numerous small plantations in the United States, 
and the supplies gathered furnish the world's demand. 
Wild cherry bark for cough syrups and lozenges is 
collected on the Southern mountain slopes. 

Suprarenal glands, the crude material for that valu- 
able hemostatic adrenalin, now being universally em- 
ployed in surgery and dental practice for the control 
of hemorrhage, are obtained from the large packing 
establishments engaged in the slaughtering of sheep. 
The same industry supplies the countless hog stom- 
achs that yield the pepsin so necessary for indigestion, 
a characteristic ailment of our strenuous population. 
The fishing industry of Norway and Newfoundland is 
responsible for our supplies of cod-liver oil, which is 



WHAT DRUGS ARE 17 

pressed out in tank-car quantities from the fish livers, 
stripped from the fish as they are tumbled out of the 
dories. 

Thus it will be observed that the substances used by 
the medicine manufacturer and the doctor are drawn 
from all of the natural kingdoms, and that they come 
from all parts of the globe. Our own country pro- 
duces many crude drugs and basic elements, and, be- 
cause of its wide divergence of topography and cli- 
mate, is admirably adapted to support the production 
of many botanical drugs, should conditions develop tc 
prevent the importation of foreign supplies, as was 
the case with belladonna and other foreign species, 
not requiring the nurturing of a wholly tropical atmos- 
phere. Furthermore, some of our younger and more 
aggressive and progressive dealers in crude drugs are 
establishing connections with the initial sources of the 
commodities in which they are interested, and are 
thereby no longer dependent on the collectors and ex- 
porters of the Middle European nations. 



CHAPTER II 

BEGINNINGS AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF THE 
MEDICINE INDUSTRY 

In the state of society that existed in the periods 
prior to that which we recognize as possessing a con- 
secutive history,when tribal customs prevailed, the 
sick in a community received aid from the headmen 
and the representatives of the religious orders. 
These leaders were simply those who possessed the 
superior intellect and physical characteristics, and 
who appreciated the credulity of the rank and file of 
their associates. 

A knowledge of drugs and their uses was possessed 
by the ancient Chinese. Certain remedies, as exem- 
plified by ginseng, were accorded almost superstitious 
reverence. The inroads made in the native supplies 
of this drug led to its practical extermination in Asia, 
and its cultivation was undertaken in Korea and Man- 
churia. Fortunately for the Chinese, the discovery 
of virgin stands of ginseng in the forests of the North 
American continent provided an unlimited supply of 
the drug for many years to come. 

In prehistoric Peru coca was known as the divine 
plant of the Incas. The leaf of the shrub was in gen- 
eral use by the inhabitants, and no Inca was sent to 
his eternal rest without being provided with a bag of 

18 



BEGINNINGS AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS 19 

the drug. These little parcels of coca, in a remark- 
able state of preservation, have been brought to light 
by exploring parties who have penetrated the ancient 
burial-places. The bags are often of beautiful design 
and show a high perfection of handiwork. 

The ancient Greeks were familiar with the use of 
drugs before the days of Homer, who sings about 
iEsculapius, a Thessalian, deified as the god of healing. 
Temples were dedicated to their hero, and his disciples 
were called ^Esculapiads. Greek medicine seems to 
have occupied a superior sphere of its own, and was 
not subordinate to religion, as was the case in ancient 
Egypt and India. 

In the age of Pericles flourished the great teacher 
and physician Hippocrates (b. c. 460-377), known as 
the father of physic. The influence and teaching of 
this personage extended through the ensuing ages, and 
medical art as now practised dates from his time. 
The conquests of Alexander diffused the knowledge 
of Greek science. The development of Hippocratic 
medicine continued in Alexandria, and the study of 
anatomy was a feature of the Alexandrian school. 

The development of medicine when Rome dominated 
the history of the world was due to the influence of 
Greek culture. The Eomans did not possess an inde- 
pendent school of medicine. When medical science 
appeared it was an importation from Greece. 

The most renowned of the Greek physicians at Rome 
was Asclepias, who was born b. c. 124. In a. d. 77-78 
Dioscorides wrote a book on materia medica, 1 enumer- 

i Materia medica is a term employed in a collective sense for all the 
various drugs and medicines used for the cure or mitigation of disease. 



20 THE STORY OF DRUGS 

ating some four hundred plants and drugs. This 
work still remains the most important contribution on 
the remedies employed in ancient times. About a 
hundred years later Galen, the imperial physician at 
Rome, added some two hundred more plants. The 
three names just mentioned are not only outstanding 
lights in the development of medicine and pharmacy, 
but two of them are commemorated in Dioscorea 
villosa, the wild yam, the root of which is used in the 
treatment of dropsy, and Asclepias tuberosa, the but- 
terfly-weed, or orange milk-weed, familiarly known 
as pleurisy-root; while Galen 's name is responsible 
for the word galenical, which designates the phar- 
maceutical preparations of the natural vegetable 
drugs. 

The hordes that overspread Europe following the 
decline of the Roman influence disseminated a 
knowledge of medicine and pharmacy that had been 
gradually accumulating from the earliest periods of 
the world's history. Among these people the dispen- 
sing of drugs had been practised by a special class 
of the priesthood. Egyptian inscriptions reveal how 
the physician-priests had sent their prescriptions to 
be filled by the priests of Isis. Papyrus records go- 
ing back to b. c. 3300 contain references to the art of 
prescription-writing. 

Many new drugs were now introduced into the 
materia medica. The knowledge acquired by the Ro- 
mans from the Greeks, and augmented by the work 
of the philosophers who flourished when Rome was 
at the height of her glory, asserted its superior quali- 
ties over that of the Eastern conquerors. As it be- 




HIPPOCRATES 



GALEN 





AN EXAMPLE OF PREHISTORIC SURGERY WITH FLINT TREPHINING INSTRUMENT 

EMPLOYED 



BEGINNINGS AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS 21 

came absorbed and appreciated, and when peaceful 
conditions began to prevail, schools of pharmacy and 
medicine were established at Damascus and Bagdad, 
the chief seats of the Moslem power. 

During this period we have the first records of the 
use of some of the remedies used in modern practice. 
In the sixth century Alexander of Tralles used col- 
chicum for gout, iron for anemia, and rhubarb for 
dysentery and liver cojmplaints. Diachylon or lead 
plaster had already been invented by Menecrates, 
a. d. 1, and was used by him for the same purposes as 
it is employed to-day. Under the Moslem influence 
the first apothecary shops were established and the 
first pharmacopoeia, or set of drug standards, was pro- 
duced. The separation of the practice of pharmacy 
was recognized in the eighth century and legalized in 
the eleventh. 

Frederick II in 1233, by edict, divided the pharma- 
cists into two classes: the stationarii, who sold the 
crude drugs ; and the covifectionarii, who dispensed the 
prescriptions of the medical men. 

The supremacy of the Mohammedan influence over 
medicine and pharmacy continued through the Middle 
Ages, but during the monastic period pharmacy was 
largely under the control of the religious orders, par- 
ticularly the Benedictines. The monks were forbid- 
den to shed blood, so the practice of surgery was 
turned over to the barbers. The familiar barber's 
pole, with its spiral decoration, is a survival of those 
times when the barbers advertised their calling by a 
device representing the application of bandages. 

Ancient and medieval surgery was barbarous in the 



22 THE STORY OF DRUGS 

extreme. Ether and chloroform had not been dis- 
covered, and the use of local anesthetics was unknown. 
The operator utilized the crude instruments of the 
time, and his assistants held the head and extremities 
of the patient to prevent his struggles from interfer- 
ing with the operation. Hemmorrhage was stopped 
by the application of a red-hot iron. This served a 
double purpose, though not appreciated at the time, 
for the heat destroyed the microorganisms that other- 
wise would have infected the wound and possibly set 
up blood-poisoning. 

In prehistoric times the Incas performed a kind of 
crude surgery on those of their tribes who had re- 
ceived head injuries resulting in pressure on the brain. 
The skull was removed at the seat of the trouble by 
means of a knife or saw. The practice must have been 
wide-spread, judging from discoveries made during 
the excavation in the ancient Peruvian cities. In 
many cases the operations were apparently suc- 
cessful and the patient recovered, because, though 
the site of the cut is plainly visible, a new growth 
of bone has completely covered the opening of the 
cavity. 

In England the separation of pharmacy from medi- 
cine did not occur as early as it did on the Continent. 
The first record of an apothecary's shop in London is 
in 1345. 

About the time of the revival of learning, the dis- 
covery of America added a new influence in the prog- 
ress of medicine and pharmacy. Many new drugs 
were carried to Europe by the explorers, and intro- 
duced into the materia medica, one of the most note- 



BEGINNINGS AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS 23 

worthy being cinchona, or Peruvian bark, which was 
first introduced into Spain in 1640. 

Tincture of opium was prepared by Paracelsus 
(1493-1541), a German chemist, who called it laud- 
anum, by which name it is still known. 

The crude-drug dealers in those days were known 
as the grossarii, or sellers in gross, the term being 
subsequently modified to grocer. The apothecaries 
and physicians purchased their supplies from the gro- 
cers. In time the business of the grocers became spec- 
ialized, those dealing in the vegetable and simple 
drugs being known as druggists, and those selling 
preparations made from minerals and requiring the 
aid of a furnace for their reduction being called chyrn- 
ists, later changed to chemists. The apothecaries 
were the real pharmacists of those days, and dis- 
pensed the medicines prescribed by the doctors. 
After 1720 the druggists and chemists entered into the 
field of practising pharmacy, thereby competing with 
the apothecaries. 

Throughout the eighteenth century the science of 
chemistry made notable progress, and by the middle 
of the nineteenth it was firmly established on its pres- 
ent basis. The names of some of the most notable 
exponents appeared during this period. Cavendish, 
Black, Scheele, and Priestley fought out their theories 
of the nature of chemical compounds, and in the course 
of their researches many new substances and elements 
were discovered. Lavoisier laid the foundations for 
modern quantitative analysis by his brilliant work in 
Paris. Dalton elucidated the theory of the atomic 
weights of the elements, and Berzelius worked out the 



24 THE STORY OF DRUGS 

equivalents of combining ratios of the elements, thus 
enabling the chemist to work out the reactions that 
occur when chemical substances unite, and to estimate 
in advance the quantities of the elements or com- 
pounds that are required to produce a new body. 

Many of the discoveries of the indefatigable 
workers of this fruitful period had an important bear- 
ing on the progress of medicine. Boric acid was first 
prepared and used by Homberg in 1702. Ammonia 
gas was collected by Priestley in 1774. In 1804 Ser- 
tiirner, a German apothecary, separated morphin in 
the pure condition, but did not fully describe it until 
1817. Seguin discovered the same body in 1804, but 
did not appreciate its nature or importance. Ether 
was used in 1805 to relieve pulmonary distress, but 
it was not until 1842, in Athens, Georgia, that it was 
first used as an anesthetic for surgical operations. 
Pelletier and Caventou isolated strychnin in 1818, and 
two years later discovered quinin. In 1812 Courtois, 
a soda manufacturer in Paris, while attempting to re- 
move with acid a deposit that occurred on his copper 
kettles, was astonished at the evolution of purple 
vapors, which proved to be iodine. Bromine was dis- 
covered in 1826 by Balard of Montpellier, France. 
In 1831 chloroform was made by Samuel Guthrie of 
Sackett 's Harbor, New York, and independently in the 
same year by Soubeiran in France and Liebig in Ger« 
many. Cooain was added to the growing list of medic- 
inal agents in 1855 as the result of the researches of 
Gardeke. 

During the nineteenth century the attention of the 
civilized inhabitants of the world to peaceful occupa- 



BEGINNINGS AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS 25 

tions resulted in an enormous increase in population. 
The resources of the new Republic of the United 
States attracted settlers from the overcrowded cities 
and towns of Europe. Each census found our num- 
bers increasing rapidly, both from this source and 
from the unrestricted breeding of our own people. 
Large families were the rule, not only in the rural 
districts, but in the cities. 

It was only natural that with the expansion of indus- 
try and increase in population a change in the ways 
and means of dispensing medicines should occur. 
The old-fashioned apothecary with his mortar and 
pestle could not hope to remain the sole medium for 
compounding herbal mixtures and powders, and roll- 
ing pills for the new civilization. The importance of 
the chemical industry was becoming apparent, and 
the making of mineral salts and other organic chem- 
icals was taken up as an individual industry. Drug- 
stores increased in number, and by the middle of the 
century a few manufacturing pharmacists were estab- 
lished, soon demonstrating that they were permanent 
factors in the trade. From that time the develop- 
ment of the drug business tended toward the condi- 
tions that obtain at present. 

The drug trade, as now organized, includes several 
independent factors, each one of which functions as 
a link in the chain of operations that finally places 
medicines within reach of the consumer. The chief 
factors include the crude-drug dealer, the manufac- 
turer of medicinal chemicals, the manufacturing 
pharmacist who has a line of several hundred prod- 
ucts, the proprietary or patent-medicine manufac- 



26 THE STORY OF DRUGS 

turer, whose list, though usually small numerically, is 
often extensive in volume of sales, the physicians ' 
supply house, the wholesale druggist, and the retail 
druggist. 

To begin with, there is an important industry in the 
Carolinas engaged in collecting the many hundreds of 
our native botanical drugs, which for the most part 
can be obtained in paying quantities in the moun- 
tainous region of the Southern Appalachian System. 
The firms thus engaged receive their wares from the 
mountaineers, and their own collectors sort the drugs, 
bale them, and ship them to the crude-drug dealers 
in the large cities, and to the larger pharmaceutical 
manufacturers. In the Middle West, notably Indiana, 
the collection of mandrake root, slippery-elm bark, 
golden-seal, and wahoo is extensively handled. One 
dealer, Louis Sulzer, operating as Sulzer Brothers at 
Madison, Indiana, receives and distributes the 
world's largest quantities of mandrake and golden- 
seal. The firm was organized in 1884, and was an 
offshoot of an enterprise begun in 1854 by the father 
of the present owner, who was in the hide-and-wool 
business. At that time, as at present, most hide, fur, 
and wool dealers purchased ginseng, golden-seal, and 
mandrake. 

By far the larger quantity of the drugs used in the 
compounding of medicines is placed in the hands of 
the manufacturers by the crude-drug merchants, of 
which there are several large firms located in New 
York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Chicago. New 
York is the center of the crude-drug trade of the 
United States. Not many of these houses make any 



BEGINNINGS AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS 27 

pretense of supervising the collection of the wares 
they handle. They receive their supplies from the 
firms engaged in the collecting business, and import 
foreign-grown drugs from the European cities, Lon- 
don, Amsterdam, Marseilles, and Hamburg, as well as 
from South America, Africa, and Far Eastern ports. 
Their chief business is to supply the manufacturing 
pharmacists with their crude material in so far as it 
consists of drugs of vegetable origin. They grind and 
powder roots, leaves, barks, and herbs to be put up in 
small packages for distribution through the wholesale 
drug dealers. Some of them have elaborately equipped 
plants for making bulk extracts of the vegetable drugs, 
with which they supply the smaller manufacturers 
of pills and tablets, and the miscellaneous trade which 
may require large quantities of some individual com- 
modity, such as extract of licorice by the plug-tobacco 
makers, and extract of belladonna by the manufac- 
turers of plasters. In this way their business merges 
with that of the larger pharmaceutical manufacturers, 
who, in addition to making the extracts they use in 
their pills and tablets, solicit trade in extracts where- 
ever it happens to exist. 

Paralleling the crude-drug industry, in its relation 
to the drug trade in general, is the manufacturing 
chemical business. The firms operating in this field 
supply the makers of medicine with their salts, such 
as potassium iodide, the bromides, chlorate of potash, 
tartar emetic, and all others of mineral origin; their 
pure organic principles, which are derived from crude 
botanical drugs such as morphin, cocain, quinin, 
caffein, strychnin, digitalin, and santonin; and their 



28 THE STORY OF DRUGS 

synthetic organic compounds, acetanilid, phenacetin, 
aspirin, chloral, etc. They also prepare ether and 
chloroform, which are distributed to the hospitals and 
smaller users through the wholesale drug trade. 

Manufacturing chemists usually obtain their crude 
materials directly from the source, or from the dis- 
tributing centers, just as do the crude-drug merchants. 
They go to China for their antimony; to Amsterdam 
for their cinchona, from which they make quinin; to 
London for their opium, from which they extract and 
purify morphin, and codein; and so on all over the 
world where the original source or chief distributing 
center exists. Their products go to other industries 
besides those engaged in preparing medicines. For 
instance, about 80 per cent, of the strychnin manufac- 
tured is consumed by the government and private in- 
terests in destroying predatory animals, coyotes, tim- 
ber-wolves, mountain-lions, ground-squirrels, and 
pocket-gophers. Caffein, though employed to the ex- 
tent of thousands of pounds in compounding headache 
mixtures, is consumed in many times greater quan- 
tities by the soft-drink trade. 

The expansion of the manufacturing chemical busi- 
ness in the past twenty years has been marvelous. 
Many new firms have appeared during this period, 
and some of them have become factors in the worlds 
trade. Prior to 1900 the bulk of the business was 
handled by the Mallinckrodts in St. Louis ; Powers and 
Weightman and the Rosengartens in Philadelphia; 
Pfizer, Merck, and the New York Quinine & Chemical 
Company in New York. Then the Dow Chemical 
Company established a foothold in the trade by its 





H. H. Rusby 



Joseph P. Remington 





John Uri Lloyd 



James H. Beal 





C. H. La Wall 



Clinedinst, Washington, D. C. 



S. L. Hilton 



A FEW OF THE SCIENTISTS AND EDUCATORS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE HIGH CHAR- 
ACTER OF MODERN PHARMACY 





E. R. Squibb 



George Rosengarten 





Eli Lilly 



J. L. Hopkins 





A. M. Todd 



H. C. Parke 



FOUNDERS OF THE DRUG AND MEDICINE MAKING BUSINESS 
AS IT EXISTS TODAY 



BEGINNINGS AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS 29 

development of the bromine-containing brines of 
Michigan, and it now practically controls the trade 
in bromides. The Monsanto Chemical Company 
started in St. Lonis, and is now an important factor in 
the production of saccharin, phenolphthalein, phenace- 
tin, and caffein. The Schaefer Alkaloid Works of 
New Jersey have specialized in the production of caf- 
fein, of which they are probably the largest producers 
in the world, and also make artificial vanillin and the 
salts of lithium. 

The development of the house of Powers, Weight- 
man, Eosengarten, of Philadelphia, is typical of the 
rise of the manufacturing chemical industry in this 
country. In 1818 an Englishman of the name of John 
Farr, in partnership with Abraham Kunzi, a Swiss, 
began making chemicals in Philadelphia. They took up 
the manufacture of quiniri? salts in 1823, soon after 
Pelletier and Caventou made known the results of 
their experiments. Kunzi retired in 1838, and Farr 
associated with himself Thomas H. Powers and 
William Weightman. Farr died in 1841, and from 
that time until the merger with the Eosengartens the 
firm was known as Powers & Weightman. 

The manufacturing business of Eosengarten & Sons 
was established in 1822. The original partners were 
Seitler and Zeitler, but George D. Eosengarten joined 
the firm in 1823, and from that time until 1879, when 
he retired, was the guiding spirit of the enterprise. 
In 1853 the firm name became Eosengarten & Sons, 
and was incorporated as such in 1901. In 1824 they 
were manufacturing quinin salts, ether, spirits of 
niter, aqua ammonia, acetic ether, and Hoffman's 



30 THE STORY OF DRUGS 

anodyne. Morphin salts were added to the list in 
1832, and in the next three or four years the firm em- 
barked upon the manufacture of such important medic- 
inal chemicals as calomel, strychnin, veratrin, codein, 
bismuth salts, and the iodides. 

By the end of the nineteenth century both firms were 
manufacturing full lines of all of the high-grade chem- 
icals used by the druggists in their prescription trade, 
and by the manufacturing pharmacists for their many 
thousands of formulas that required the use of drugs 
of this character. Their operations extended all over 
the world, and their fame has had much to do with 
the establishment of Philadelphia as a chemical-manu- 
facturing center. 

In 1905 the firms united under the name of Powers- 
Weightman-Rosengarten Company, and since that 
time the active management of the business has been 
carried on by the son of George D. Rosengarten and 
four grandsons. 

The drug collectors, the crude-drug dealers, and the 
manufacturing chemists supply directly to the makers 
of medicines the ingredients that go to make up the 
numerous types of medicines that are dispensed or 
prescribed and consumed by the public. The 
makers of medicines include the large manufacturing 
pharmaceutical houses, the proprietary or patent- 
medicine makers, the wholesale druggists, and the re- 
tail druggists. The volume of manufacturing done by 
the latter two interests is considerable, but actually 
represents but a small proportion of the total output 
of medicines. In theory the wholesale druggists act 
as distributors for placing the goods of the manufac- 



BEGINNINGS AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS 31 

turing chemists, pharmaceutical houses, and pro- 
prietary makers in the hands of the retailers, but most 
of the wholesalers make complete lines of the standard 
pharmaceuticals. Some of them make their own 
chemicals and engage extensively in importing, re- 
ceiving, and distributing crude botanical drugs. 
Hence there is no clear line of demarcation between 
the manufacturer and the wholesaler. 

The manufacturing pharmaceutical houses prepare 
fluid and solid extracts, elixirs, syrups, emulsions, 
pills, tablets, lozenges, effervescent salts, plasters, 
suppositories, medicinal wines, vaccines, serums, and 
various special preparations, representing in the 
aggregate thousands of different formulas and com- 
binations. Their output is sold all over this country 
and many of them have branch laboratories in foreign 
lands. 

This industry began to make itself known in 1850. 
Prior to this time all medicines were compounded by 
the retail druggists, and nearly all of the old estab- 
lished firms now in existence had their inception in the 
corner drug-store. By the middle of the century 
William S. Merrell was busily engaged in turning out 
medicines in Cincinnati, his concern being the out- 
growth of a pharmacy that he started in 1828. He 
was a skilled chemist, constantly delving into the mys- 
teries of his chosen profession, and was the first to 
prepare and offer for sale podophyllin, the active res- 
inous constituent of the mandrake root. In Lebanon, 
New York, Henry A. Tilden, brother of Samuel J. Til- 
den, had founded the house of Tilden & Company, and 
was turning out the first fluid extracts ever offered 



32 THE STORY OF DRUGS 

the trade and profession outside of the drug-store. 
Henry Thayer in Cambridge, Massachusetts, founded 
the house that still bears his name. 

During the ensuing twenty-five years manufactur- 
ing pharmacy made great strides. The firms above 
mentioned grew and prospered. New interests en- 
tered the field. Names that stand for what we know to 
be the highest ideals in the profession appeared dur- 
ing this epoch. From Kentucky came John Uri Lloyd 
and founded in Cincinnati the house of Lloyd Brothers. 

To Detroit came Frederick Stearns from Buffalo, 
and in 1855 began the upbuilding of a successful busi- 
ness that never ceased to expand. He operated both 
a drug-store and a manufacturing plant, and the first 
telephone installed in Detroit was a private line con- 
necting those two establishments. 

In Baltimore in the fifties the brothers Louis and 
Charles E. Dohme were clerks in the retail store of 
Alpheus E. Sharp. In 1860 the partnership of Sharp 
& Dohme was formed. In 1862 Dr. Samuel P. 
Duffield, a druggist in Detroit, began to develop a 
small manufacturing business, later associating with 
him Hervey C. Parke and George S. Davis, and in 
1867 the firm of Parke, Davis & Company was fairly 
launched. 

During this period comes also Dr. E. R. Squibb, of 
Brooklyn, who won the lasting confidence of the 
medical profession with his ether, chloroform, fluid 
extract of ergot, and tincture of digitalis. He became 
famous during the Civil War as medical purveyor for 
the army. John Wyeth, renowned for his lithia tab- 
lets, was developing a rapidly expanding business in 



BEGINNINGS AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS 33 

Philadelphia. William E. Warner was exploiting a 
line of beautiful sugar-coated pills. 

In 1876 Colonel Eli Lilly, after several years of 
preliminary experience and associations, launched his 
own establishment in Indianapolis, and to-day the red 
Lilly insignia can be found on packages of pharma- 
ceuticals all over the world. In 1887 Henry K. Mul- 
ford, then a drug clerk, bought a controlling interest 
in the ' ' Old Simes Drug Store, ' ' a Philadelphia land- 
mark that dated back to 1815. The house of Mulford 
is to-day one of the largest firms in the world engaged 
in the manufacture of medicines. It has specialized 
in biological products, serums, and vaccines. The 
animals utilized for the production of these indispen- 
sable remedial agents have for years been maintained 
under ideal conditions on a beautiful farm at Glen- 
olden, a suburb of Philadelphia. From the very 
beginning of its history the company has endeavored 
to develop the professional ideal so long taught by the 
colleges of pharmacy, and in the developing of this 
ideal the house has attained its success. In 1886 Dr. 
Upjohn had successfully introduced his friable pills. 
In 1889 Edgar L. Patch began manufacturing opera- 
tions in a converted shoe shop in Stoneham, Massar 
chusetts. 

The limits of this chapter will not permit of more 
than passing mention of all these great names. There 
are many others who deserve recognition, and we 
should not omit the Schieff elins ; McKesson and Rob- 
bins of New York; and the Burrough Brothers of 
Baltimore. 

While prior to 1850 the preparation of all kinds of 



34 THE STOEY OF DRUGS 

medicines was entirely a function of the druggist, to 
day his work of this character is limited principally 
to the compounding of prescriptions and the manufac- 
ture of some favorite specialty or the simple formulas 
of the National Formulary and Pharmacopoeia. The 
evolution of the manufacturing pharmaceutical houses 
was inevitable. The demand for properly prepared 
medicines has increased enormously, both on account 
of the rapid growth of the population, and the prog- 
ress in the knowledge of treatment of disease. Hand 
in hand with the increased consumption of medicines 
has grown the dependence of the doctor on reliable 
and standard products. Large-scale production 
under the surveillance of a corps of expert chemists, 
botanists, pharmacists, and executives is the only 
means by which the present demand can be satisfied. 
The modern medicine factory is equipped with such 
an array of special apparatus and machinery that the 
old-time alchemist, could he be resurrected to-day, 
would be confirmed in his belief in the transmutation 
of elements. Unsightly masses of paste are quickly 
converted into spherical or oval pills of uniform shape 
and size by special machines capable of turning out 
hundreds of thousands each working day. Brown 
pills, after being transferred to immense rotating 
drums, reappear in due course with a smooth coating 
of sugar and a brilliant color of pink or blue or 
gold. White granular mixtures, resembling irregular 
particles of sugar, are fed into automatic rotating 
stamping-machines, which deliver thousands of beau- 
tifully formed compressed tablets of any size or shape 
desired. Enormous percolators, holding hundreds of 



BEGINNINGS AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS 35 

pounds of pulverized roots or bark or leaves, deliver 
a continuous stream of fluid extracts, representing the 
valuable constituents of such potent remedies as nux 
vomica, digitalis, belladonna, ergot, or opium. Steam- 
jacketed vacuum stills, with capacities ranging up to 
five hundred gallons, concentrate the extracts at low 
temperatures, whereby the delicate chemical constitu- 
ents on which .the value of the remedy depends are un- 
injured. The thick molasses-like concentrations flow- 
ing from the bottoms of the big stills after all the sol- 
vent has been driven off, are later worked up into the 
pills and tablets and other mixtures of varied charac- 
ter. 

Automatic counting and filling-machines transfer 
pills and tablets to an endless chain of bottles and 
boxes. Special bottling apparatus, delivering to a 
nicety an ounce, a pint, a gallon, or whatever the quan- 
tity required, transfers without loss the liquid rem- 
edies to an endless chain of bottles, which are later 
corked, sorted, and labeled by skilled operators. Con- 
trol laboratories, manned by expert chemists, botanists 
and physiologists, pass on the quality of the crude 
materials employed in the manufacturing operations, 
and standardize and place the final approval on the 
finished medicines. In the factories where serums 
and vaccines are prepared the rooms in which the ani- 
mals are treated are kept scrupulously clean with 
antiseptics. The attendants are carefully clothed, the 
apparatus sterilized, and even the air entering the 
chambers is filtered through absorbent cotton to avoid 
any possible contamination from undesirable germs. 

This, in brief, visualizes the medicine plant of to- 



36 THE STORY OF DRUGS 

day. A century ago nothing like this existed. A few 
glass and metal percolators for extraction purposes, 
mortars and pestles for mixing and compounding, 
ordinary pots and kettles for heating, a still heated 
directly on the fire, and a metal worm without vacuum 
attachment constituted the principal equipment of 
the dispensing pharmacist. Pills were rolled by hand 
and left uncoated. Compressed tablets were un- 
known. Uniformity in the character of the medicines 
was a chance, and standardization was unheard of. 

Before passing on to the discussion of another im- 
portant element in the field of medicine manufactur- 
ing, reference must be made to the phenomenal growth 
of an idea that is strictly a twentieth-century proposi- 
tion. Less than twenty years ago the United Drug 
Company began to make a complete line of medicines, 
with the object of establishing direct connection with 
the consumer through the medium of the retail drug- 
gist. The Rexall line was thus launched, and to-day 
the Liggett stores and others handling preparations 
bearing the familiar label with the device fy (which 
was originally an invocation to Jupiter of the an- 
cient medical men) are known throughout the length 
and breadth of this great country. The factory of 
the United Drug Company is one of the largest and 
best equipped plants of its kind in the world. The 
company also has its own units engaged in making 
the specialties sold in the Liggett stores, which are 
gradually acquiring the character of universal bazaars. 

While the firms engaged in making the numerous 
medicines prescribed and dispensed by the physicians 
represent an enormous investment of capital, and 



BEGINNINGS AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS 37 

their annual business amounts to a turn-over of many 
millions of dollars, the makers of the popular reme- 
dies known as proprietary or patent medicines do a 
much greater business, both in volume and from a 
monetary point of view, and have a much larger in- 
vestment of capital. The origin of this industry 
differs in some respects from the inception of the 
manufacturing pharmaceutical houses. Most of the 
firms engaged in producing patent medicines are con- 
cerned each with one or two specialties. These prep- 
arations are usually based on some mixture that at 
one time enjoyed repute among the aboriginal inhabit- 
ants of the country, or a favorite household remedy, 
or the prescription of some physician that has shown 
marked virtues, or a special product evolved by a dis- 
pensing pharmacist for which there developed such 
an extensive call that the proprietor finally devoted 
his entire attention to its preparation. 

To cite a few cases, it is interesting to relate that 
as far back as 1825 the formula of SSS, a popular 
remedy for rheumatism and blood diseases, was be- 
ing prepared and used locally by the Indians and 
pioneers settled in Georgia. Personal recommenda- 
tion increased the demand for the preparation, which 
is a liquid made from extracts of certain potent drugs 
indigenous to the South, and in Atlanta in 1870 its 
manufacture was taken up on a factory basis. From 
a plant operating at that time with one small iron per- 
colator for extracting the drugs, the business has in- 
creased until to-day a large manufacturing establish- 
ment, equipped with special steam-jacketed extractors 
working day and night, mixing-tanks and aging tanks 



38 THE STORY OF DRUGS 

possessing a capacity of more than half a million 
gallons, and automatic bottling and labeling machin- 
ery of the latest design, is required to handle the 
yearly output. 

Somewhere about the year 1836, a young man born 
in New Jersey found his way to Philadelphia, looking 
for work. He was suffering from a disease of the 
lungs. He tried every doctor and every remedy he 
could reach, without relief. Giving up hope of getting 
well, he returned home. Soon afterward he was given 
a formula for a home-made syrup by an old lady who 
had used it in her family. The principal ingredients 
of this formula are said to have been obtained from 
the medicine-men of the Shawano tribe of Indians. 
Making up a quantity of this syrup, the young man 
started taking it, and soon began to improve. Re- 
covery was slow, but he gained little by little, and in 
less than a year was well and healthy. Naturally, the 
incident of his recovery caused widespread inquiries 
to come to him from the surrounding country, and he 
was besieged with requests for the cough syrup. For 
a while he prepared it for his neighbors without 
charge, but the demand for it grew in excess of his 
means. He then began making a nominal charge for 
each bottle to cover the cost of ingredients. At 
this he could not manufacture it in his own home fast 
enough to keep up with the demand. He thereupon 
decided to move to Philadelphia and make a busi- 
ness of manufacturing and selling the syrup. Hence 
the origin of Schenck's Syrup. Mr. Schenck then be- 
gan the study of medicine, and, following the knowl- 
edge obtained, he began experimenting with nature's 



BEGINNINGS AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS 39 

herbs and roots, with the result that Schenck 's Man- 
drake Pills and Schenck 's Tonic were brought into 
existence. The original Dr. Schenck lived forty years 
after he was given up as incurable. He was suc- 
ceeded by his son Dr. J. H. Schenck, and the grand- 
son of the original Dr. Schenck is now the owner of 
the business. 

In 1873 there lived in Lynn, Massachusetts, a typi- 
cal old-time New England housewife, active in the 
affairs of the town, and the friend and confidante of 
her neighbors to whom they turned in time of distress 
and sickness. Her name was Lydia E. Pinkham. At 
the time this narrative opens she was facing the world 
with an invalid and impoverished husband and a large 
family. In her neighborhood ministrations she had 
often helped the afflicted with the receipt for a botanic 
remedy for diseases of women, which she had known 
to be effective in the practice of a great physician. 
It was proposed that she prepare the remedy for sale. 
The necessities of her family demanded that she do 
something, and thus originated the famous Vegetable 
Compound, so well known to women everywhere. 

At first she procured the herbs, steeped them, and 
prepared the remedy in the true old-time fashion on 
the kitchen stove. At the time of her death in 1883 
the business was well established, and to-day the Pink- 
ham Medicine Company possesses one of the finest 
equipped plants in the world. From the time the drugs 
are transferred to the percolators until the finished 
medicine is bottled, the operation of manufacture is 
entirely automatic. Every precaution is taken to 
prevent contamination, the product is subjected to 



40 THE STORY OF DRUGS 

thorough pasteurization, and is even bottled in a 
special room under aseptic conditions. 

In 1888 Captain Isaac Emerson, a druggist of Balti- 
more, worked out the formula of a headache remedy, 
which he sold over the counter of his store. The de- 
mand for it grew so rapidly that a year later he gave 
up his retail business and began to manufacture it 
exclusively. Thus was born Bromo Seltzer, to-day 
the most popular effervescent salt on the market. 
The manufacturing plant in 1889 occupied a small 
room above a restaurant, but the business soon out- 
grew this location, and finally, after several changes, 
was installed in the specially designed and equipped 
Tower building, which is now an outstanding mark 
on the Baltimore sky-line. Here is installed every- 
thing that modern ingenuity can devise for turning 
out a perfect granular effervescent salt. The air of 
the mixing- and filling-rooms is dehumidified so that, 
regardless of weather conditions there is no danger 
from absorption of atmospheric moisture. The 
slightest excess of moisture in the preparation would 
be likely to set up a chemical reaction after the product 
is bottled, and the pressure exerted by the liberated 
carbonic-acid gas would burst the container, causing 
inconvenience to the purchaser and embarrassment to 
the company. 

The purest ingredients only are employed in com- 
pounding Bromo Seltzer. The company supervises 
the manufacture of its principal chemicals, such as 
the bromides, caffein, acetanilid, and citric acid. In 
1908 it began to manufacture its own bottles, and is 
to-day the largest manufacturer of blue-glass bottles 



BEGINNINGS AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS 41 

in the country. During the war, when practically every 
large manufacturer of medicines was having trouble 
in securing bottles and raw materials, the Emerson 
Drug Company experienced no inconvenience of that 
nature. 

In the town of Erie, Pennsylvania, in the middle of 
the nineteenth century, Dr. J. S. Carter was engaged 
in the practice of medicine. He was also the pro- 
prietor of a drug-store. Like nearly all general prac- 
titioners, he had his favorite prescriptions which he 
had found effective, and which he prescribed when 
occasion required. Many of his patients suffered 
from the results of imprudent eating and the accom- 
panying disarrangement of the working of the alimen- 
tary canal. Constipation was the coming national ail- 
ment. For these sufferers he prescribed a simple 
formula composed of efficacious vegetable drugs, and 
directed that it should be put up in the form of pills. 
The patients left the door of the doctor's office and 
went into the door of the pharmacy around the corner, 
where the clerk in charge put up the prescriptions in 
the old-fashioned way, rolling the pills by hand. 
Gradually the fame of Dr. Carter's remedy became 
widespread. People who had obtained relief recom- 
mended the treatment to their friends, who came to 
the drug-store and asked for some of Dr. Carter's 
little liver pills. Hence the origin of the formula 
of this famous remedy, and the name by which it is 
still known, which was given it by its users. To-day 
many millions of these pills are sold annually, and 
they are known all over the world in the little vial with 
the familiar label and large letters. 



42 THE STORY OF DRUGS 

Incidents of this character could be cited without 
limit, but these are typical of the origin and develop- 
ment of all of the successful legitimate proprietary 
medicine houses. Dr. Pierce's Golden Medical Dis- 
covery and Favorite Prescription were placed on the 
market in the late sixties. They were the fruits of 
the experience of Dr. R. V. Pierce, who practised 
medicine in Hydetown and Titusville, Pennsylvania, 
prior to 1866, when he settled in Buffalo. Hood's 
Sarsaparilla was suggested to Mr. Hood by a prescrip- 
tion of a Dr. Oliver, a famous Boston physician. 

We must refer, in passing, to a unique branch of 
the medicine industry which had its origin in Winona, 
Minnesota. It is known as the "wagon trade," and 
is conducted by a dozen or more firms scattered 
through the central United States. They make medi- 
cines, perfumes, toilet articles, etc., and distribute 
them through the rural districts by personal contact 
with the purchasers. The system of distribution re- 
calls the old-fashioned tin peddler whose red wagon 
was a familiar sight along the roads of New England 
thirty years ago. These firms bring the drug-store to 
the home of the customer, and the housewife is able to 
replenish her medicine-chest with a sufficient quantity 
of her necessary and favorite remedies to take care 
of her requirements until the wagon again makes its 
periodical visit. 

The physicians' supply houses, so-called, are actually 
manufacturing pharmaceutical plants. Their line is 
somewhat smaller than that of such firms as Parke, 
Davis & Company, or Mulford, and the volume of their 
business is but a small fraction of that done by the big 



BEGINNINGS AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS 43 

firms. These institutions have about the same rela- 
tion to the dispensing physician that the wholesale 
druggist does to the dispensing pharmacist, with the 
marked difference that their manufacturing depart- 
ments are more of a feature. 

As we have already indicated, the bulk of the medi- 
cines and drugs that are put in shape for the use of the 
retail druggist by the crude-drug dealer, manufactur- 
ing chemist, manufacturing pharmacist, and patent- 
medicine maker, are distributed through the whole- 
sale druggist. Representatives of this branch of the 
trade are found in the larger cities. Some of them 
put out complete lines of pharmaceuticals under their 
own labels too, but their chief concern is to see that 
the corner drug-store, the hospital, and the scientific 
institution are equipped with the miscellaneous drugs 
and chemicals that they require in the daily conduct 
of their business. 

Thus it will be seen that there is a vast and intricate 
system concerned with the collection, preparation, and 
distribution of our drugs and medicines. Each factor 
has its own part to play, and the development of each 
has resulted from the operation of the subtle economic 
conditions that have accompanied the progress of our 
country from the inception of the infant Republic to 
the commanding and superior position that it now 
maintains. 

It is fitting that a tribute should be paid to the great 
educators and scientists who have inspired those who 
have been instrumental in placing on a substantial 
basis the great industries we have noted. Their re- 
searches and discoveries have changed the science of 



44 THE STORY OF DRUGS 

medicine and pharmacy from one of empiricism to one 
based on actualities. Great men are these and known 
to all who have been associated with pharmacy during 
the past half century. The late Joseph P. Remington, 
for many years dean of the Philadelphia College of 
Pharmacy, and Chairman of the Revision Committee 
of the United States Pharmacopoeia, author and 
teacher, comes first to the thoughts of all because of 
the inspiring influence he wielded for so many years. 
Lucius E. Sayre, originally from Philadelphia, where 
he at one time conducted a drug-store in partnership 
with Remington; Henry H. Rusby, the famous bota- 
nist and explorer, who has added many useful drugs to 
the materia medica; John Uri Lloyd; Harvey W. 
Wiley; Charles Caspari, Jr.; Edward R. Squibb; 
Albert B. Prescott; Edward Parrish; William Proc- 
tor ; and John Maisch — all have left their impressions 
on the progress of science. Martin I. Wilbert, in his 
picturesque way, for years maintained a happy 
liaison between the scientists of the pharmaceutical 
and medical professions. Frederick J. Wulling, ven- 
erable exponent of pure pharmacy in the Northwest; 
Eugene G. Eberle; Joseph W. England; Henry M. 
Whelpley; Charles E. Caspari; Samuel L. Hilton, 
alert and aggressive in all the great movements of 
the period affecting the science and industry; Edward 
Kremers, leading authority on the essential oils; 
Warner W. Stockberger, economic botanist and ex- 
ponent of drug cultivation ; Charles H. LaWall, scien- 
tist and teacher, ably and aggressively filling the place 
of Remington with his youthful exuberance — all are 
to-day the leaders in the profession, to whom the in- 



BEGINNINGS AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS 45 

dustry of medicine-making looks for its help and in- 
spiration. And finally do we all pay homage to James 
Hartley Beal, with the realization that as long as he 
survives a great leader watches over the destinies of 
the science, since it is his wide experience and pro- 
found knowledge of the influences affecting pure and 
applied pharmacy that have often shown the light 
when doubt or hesitation existed. 



CHAPTER HI 

HOW MEDICINES AEE MADE 

The maker of medicines, if he is one of the group 
putting out a full line of products, exclusive of patent 
medicines, sold by the retail druggist and prescribed 
by the physician, manufactures fluid and solid ex- 
tracts, elixirs, syrups, emulsions, liniments, antiseptic 
washes, special liquid mixtures, pills, tablets, lozenges, 
troches, hard and soft filled capsules, granular salts, 
plasters, ointments, pastes, suppositories, and some- 
times serums and vaccines. These are the principal 
forms in which medicines find their way into the trade. 
The formulas are legion. The methods of prepara- 
tion are virtually the same in every establishment. 
Some firms have better equipment than others, and 
some are possessed of superior talent, which enables 
them to turn out better and more stable preparations 
than their competitors. But at the present time there 
is no secrecy about the general methods employed, and 
the manufacturing pharmacy on a large* scale is prac- 
tically an open book. 

An insight into the details of some of the processes 
will be interesting. First we will describe the manu- 
facture of drug extracts, for these are the simplest 
forms of galenical preparations, and they are used 
to a considerable extent in the preparation of other 
medicines. 

46 



HOW MEDICINES AEE MADE 47 

A fluid extract is a preparation made by removing 
from a vegetable drug its essential or medicinally 
active constituents by means of a liquid. The valu- 
able components of the drug dissolve in the liquid and 
are thereby separated from the insoluble and useless 
portions. The dissolving liquid, called the solvent, is 
usually alcohol. Fluid extracts should not be con- 
fused with flavoring extracts, which consist of some 
volatile oil or flavoring principle dissolved in alcohol. 
Flavoring extracts are products of the food industry, 
and are made by simply adding the proper proportion 
of the pure oil or flavoring compound to the pure alco- 
hol. (Vanilla extract differs in its mode of prepara- 
tion and conforms more nearly to a true fluid extract.) 

The list of fluid extracts includes those from all the 
vegetable drugs that are worth while. Ordinarily 
they are adjusted so that a pint of the finished extract 
represents one pound of the crude material used. A 
tincture is similiar in character, but is usually only one 
tenth as strong, and may be obtained in the same way 
or by diluting the fluid extract. 

In making a fluid extract of belladonna leaves, as 
an example, the crude drug is carefully weighed 
and then passed through a grinding-mill in which it 
is reduced to a coarse powder. If pulverized too 
finely it will clog the percolator and prevent a steady 
flow of the liquid. The ground drug is then trans- 
ferred to a macerating-machine shaped like a drum 
and fitted with a revolving device on the order of a 
mangle. It is first moistened with alcohol of the 
strength used for extraction, 75 per cent, in the case 
of belladonna, and then the machine is set in motion. 



48 THE STORY OF DRUGS 

The quantity of solvent (designated also as men- 
struum in the pharmaceutical world) added is suffi- 
cient to dampen the drug but not to render it mushy. 
After a uniform mixture is obtained the moist ma- 
terial is introduced into the percolators, which vary 
in capacity from a few gallons up to large volumes. 
The percolating-room of a large manufacturing house 
contains dozens of units of all sizes. They are shaped 
like inverted truncated cones, open at the top and 
closed at the bottom. The flow of liquid is controlled 
by a spigot or valve opening out of the bottom. 

The packing of a percolator is an art in itself. The 
drug must be evenly distributed, and if a large quan- 
tity is being introduced layers of excelsior or some 
similiar elastic material must be added to relieve the 
pressure and prevent clogging. The percolator is 
never completely filled, as it is necessary to leave a 
space above the surface of the drug mass for the liquid 
to stand. 

The solvent is allowed to flow onto the mass, and 
when it has penetrated to the bottom and begins to 
drop, the valve is closed, the percolator is covered, 
and the drug allowed to soak for several days. By 
this means the alcohol gradually works its way into 
the cells of the leaf and dissolves the valuable medic- 
inal constituents. 

At the end of the soaking period, the valve at the 
bottom of the percolator is opened, and a slow steady 
stream of liquid is allowed to run out. More alcohol 
is added from time to time in order to keep a uniform 
head of liquid above the surface of the drug mass, and 
this is kept up until all of the medicinal constituents 




PERCOLATORS USED FOR REMOVING THE VALUABLE CONSTITUENTS OF CRUDE 

DRUGS 




A TYPE OF JACKETED PERCOLATOR FOR HOT EXTRACTIONS 




BOTTLING MEDICINE AUTOMATICALLY 




MACHINE FOR MAKING CAPSULES 



HOW MEDICINES ARE MADE 49 

have been taken out of the leaf. When the liquid first 
begins to flow, it is thick and very dark; and when a 
quantity of about the volume of the percolator has 
passed through, it is set aside and the balance of the 
liquid collected separately. The liquid coming from 
the outlet of the percolator is called the percolate. As 
the process continues, the percolate gets lighter and 
lighter in color until -a point is reached when there is 
nothing more of value left, and the drug mass is said 
to be exhausted. The weaker portions of the per- 
colate are then deprived of the alcohol by means of 
distillation in a vacuum apparatus, and the thick, 
syrup-like residue left in the still is dissolved in the 
first fraction of the percolate that has been set aside, 
and the solution adjusted with the proper quantity of 
solvent, so that it will represent in pints the number of 
pounds of drug used. 

This is the general procedure that is followed in 
manufacturing the fluid extracts of all the valuable 
botanical drugs. In some cases the solvent will vary, 
and in making the fluid extract of cascara sagrada, 
water is the menstruum employed. 

Not all fluid extracts are made strictly on the basis 
of a pint to a pound. Those containing medicinally 
valuable ingredients, capable of being estimated by 
chemical or physiological means, are adjusted to 
proper strength after a laboratory test. This is called 
standardization. The standards that have been 
adopted for the potent fluid extracts have been deter- 
mined from studying the results of thousands of chem- 
ical or physiological examinations made on different 
drugs. These tests are known technically as assays. 



50 THE STOEY OF DRUGS 

The importance of laboratory control can be realized 
when it is stated that different lots of the valuable 
drug belladonna may show a variation in their medic- 
inally active constituents running from 0.2 per cent, 
to more than 1 per cent. The manufacturer who is 
able to obtain the drug of high potency has a decided 
advantage over the man who* has to be content with 
the inferior drug. The former can, with perhaps one 
quarter the amount of material, a correspondingly less 
consumption of percolating menstruum, and in a 
shorter period of time, obtain the same quantity of 
fluid extract as the latter who is obliged to grind more 
weight of drug, fill up more percolator space, oonsume 
more solvent, and with greater labor cost. 

Solid extracts are prepared in the same way as are 
fluid extracts, but the solvent is entirely removed by 
means of a vacuum still. They are dark, sticky 
masses consisting of the potent constituents of the 
drug with most of the coloring matter, resins, gums, 
and other substances which dissolve in the menstruum. 
They are standardized either chemically or physiolog- 
ically, just as are the fluid extracts. Enormous 
quantities are produced by the manufacturing phar- 
maceutical houses, and the bulk of them are used as 
components of other forms of galenical preparations. 
They are mixed with other ingredients and com- 
pounded into pill masses and tablet granulations, 
rolled out into plasters, worked into capsules, and 
combined in various ways with many other special 
preparations. 

One of the most interesting operations to the non- 
scientist in a modern pharmaceutical factory is pill- 



HOW MEDICINES ARE MADE 51 

rolling. A pill formula may contain from one to a 
dozen essential medicinal ingredients, and these are 
first assembled in the mass room, where they are 
mixed with the glucose, sugar, starch, licorice extract 
or something of the sort to give a body or substance 
to the pill, and then the mixture is transferred to a 
mass-machine. Heavy rollers of iron or wood, oper- 
ated by power thoroughly blend the various compo- 
nents, and the process is continued until the mass is of 
proper consistency, which is about that of putty. 

The mass then goes into a wonderful automatic 
machine, which first shapes it into long cylinders, then 
cuts them into segments, which in turn are rolled into 
pipes of proper diameter between broad bands of 
rubber, the opposing surfaces of which move in oppo- 
site directions. The pipes fall on fluted plates, which 
cut them into little cylinders, and then by oscillating 
bands they are rolled into spheres or ovals, and finally 
delivered from a spout at the end of the machine. By 
proper adjustment of plates and bands, large or small 
pills are produced, and the entire operation is auto- 
matic after the pill mass is thrust into the machine. 
The daily capacity of one of these units may run as 
high as 800,000 pills. 

Before being coated the pills have to be dried or 
cured. This is one of the most important stages in 
pill production, because a pill that is improperly cured 
may become so hard that it will not dissolve in the 
internal liquids of the human anatomy and pass un- 
altered through the alimentary canal. They are 
placed on trays containing clean, dry flour with which 
they are completely covered. The trays are placed 



52 THE STORY OF DRUGS 

in compartments through which warm air is caused 
to circulate, maintaining a nearly uniform tempera- 
ture. The effect is gradually to abstract the super- 
fluous moisture, leaving the shape and physical struc- 
ture of the pill unaltered, and the mass in such condi- 
tion that the digestive fluids can permeate and dissolve 
the pill. 

The sugar-coating of pills is done in large revolv- 
ing pans, set at an angle and operated by power. The 
pills, when properly cured, are* transferred to these 
pans, and warm syrup is poured over them. The 
syrup contains the coloring matter, which may be red, 
blue, yellow, pink, or gold. As the pills roll over one 
another and down the ascending side of the pan, they 
become coated with the syrup. This dries, forming 
a hard sugary coating of handsome appearance. Di- 
rectly above each pan is the outlet of a supply of dry 
air, which is allowed to: play upon the pills at the dis- 
cretion of the operator. The process requires con- 
siderable skill and the exercise of good judgment. 
The coating must be evenly distributed and as thin as 
possible, so* as not to increase unduly the size of the 
finished product; yet there must be sufficient sugar 
to protect the mass from deterioration and effec- 
tually to mask the taste of disagreeable drugs. 

When the process of coating is completed, the pills 
are placed in a drum the sides of which are lined with 
canvas that has been treated with wax. When the 
drum revolves in the same way as do the coating 
cylinders, the pills take on a glossy finish, which adds 
to their durability and attractiveness. 

Pills are coated with gelatin by an entirely different 



HOW MEDICINES ARE MADE 53 

procedure. At one time there was a secret process 
employed by one or two firms. It was operated by 
making a combination of gelatin and gum arabic that 
was dried and powdered. This powder was applied 
to the pills in a revolving pan of the same style used 
in sugar-coating. The pills were placed in single 
layers in trays, which were introduced into a steam- 
box and a jet of steam was brought in contact with 
the upper surface of the pills, resulting, in a smooth 
glaze. After drying, the pills were stirred and re- 
arranged so that another surface was uppermost, 
again exposed to the steam, and the operation con- 
tinued until all the pills were uniformly glazed. 
Those manufacturers who were unfamiliar with this 
secret were obliged to employ the tedious process of 
impaling the pills on pins and dipping them by hand 
into the hot liquefied gelatin. 

Both of these methods have been superseded by the 
vacuum process. The coating-machines are of 
peculiar design. The uncoated pills are poured out 
on the wooden shelf in front of the operator. A 
hollow metal bar, as long as the machine is wide, with 
hundreds of perforations in the upper surface, and 
an opening at one end to which may be attached a flex- 
ible tube connected with an air exhaust, is inverted 
over the mass of pills. The vacuum is applied, and 
the little pills jump to the openings, where they are 
held in place by the air pressure against the vacuum 
within the bar. The pills are then lowered into & bath 
of hot gelatin solution until a little more than half 
the surface of each has been immersed. The bar is 
then turned over, placed on top of the machine, the 



54 THE STOEY OF DRUGS 

flexible tube removed, and another bar taken by the 
operator, who repeats the process continually. As 
the bars are pushed onward by the accession of those 
following, a current of air quickly dries the coating, 
and when they reach the other end of the machine they 
are received by another operator, who pmceeds to 
coat the unfinished half of the pills in the same 
manner. The result of this process is a uniform thin 
coating that is perfectly soluble in the digestive fluids 
and entirely free from the perforations and other de- 
fects incident to the older method of impaling the 
pills upon needles and pins prior to dipping them in 
the gelatin bath. 

The idea of administering medicine in the form of 
tablets had its inception in England in 1843, when 
William Brockdon took out a patent for the first 
tablet-shaping machine. The manufacture of tablets 
in the United States dates from 1864, when Jacob 
Dunton, a wholesale druggist in Philadelphia, was 
making them by means of a machine of his own design 
and patent. Charles Kilgore and John Wyeth were 
also pioneers in the making of tablets, and prior to 
1877 they were called compressed pills. A complete 
history of the tablet industry has been compiled by 
Lyman F. Kebler, 1 who in the course of his narrative 
relates the following interesting incident, which was 
reported to him by Mr. Kilgore : 

" ' Compressed tablets' were commercially imported 
in 1854 by E. Milhau, a druggist of New York City, 
at the request of Commodore M. C. Perry, who first 
procured them in London. The Commodore was very 

i Journal of the American Pharmaceutical Association, 1914. 



HOW MEDICINES ARE MADE 55 

anxious to take some of these medicines with him on 
his trip to Japan. Mr. Milhau did not have this form 
of medicament h$. stock, and was compelled to place 
the order abroad which resulted in considerable delay. 
The day Commodore Perry received orders to report 
at Hampton Roads for his final instructions, he called 
on Mr. Milhau and requested that he forward the com- 
pressed pills to him if they arrived in time to reach 
him before sailing. The goods were received in suffi- 
cient time to comply with his request." 

In the early days of the industry the remedies 
offered in tablet form were principally the straight 
chemicals. The familiar chlorate-of-potash tablet 
was probably the first. 

There are two classes of tablets in general use — 
compressed and triturates. The former may be 
either plain or coated. Compressed tablets represent 
a great variety of formulas and are made in some form 
of stamping-machine. Triturates are usually molded, 
though in some factories they are made by a stamping 
device. 

The first step in the manufacture of compressed 
tablets is the thorough mixing of the ingredients, 
which is done in a revolving mill. Balls of some hard 
material, or agitators, reduce the drugs to a uniform 
powder, and in the process they are thoroughly 
blended with the excipient. The latter term refers 
to the various substances that take part in the com- 
position of the tablet and give it body, to produce dis- 
integration when ingested, and to act as lubricants 
when the material is later run through the stamping- 
machine. Sugar, gum, dextrin, or gelatin may be 



56 THE STORY OF DRUGS 

added as adhesive agents. The body of the tablet may 
be obtained by means of kaolin, terra alba, or fullers ' 
earth, which are usually termed "fillers." The dis- 
integrating agent is usually starch. The lubricants 
commonly employed are talcum powder, boric acid, 
or liquid petroleum. Tablets that contain liquid medi- 
cating agents are treated with milk-sugar, magnesium 
carbonate, or powdered licorice root, which act as 
absorbent agents, though starch, which is universally 
employed as the disintegrator, also acts as a good 
absorbent. 

When the mixture is sufficiently blended and pul- 
verized, it is removed from the mill and subjected to 
the next stage in the process, known as granulation. 
The powder is mixed with a suitable liquid until 
slightly damp, and the mass is forced through a sieve 
of proper size. The granules are spread on trays 
and dried at a low temperature in a vacuum dryer, 
which resembles in appearance a huge safe. 

After a granulation is satisfactorily dried, it is 
mixed with a further quantity of lubricant, again 
sieved, and if flavoring oils are to take part in the 
formula, they are now added. The granules are then 
ready for introduction into the stamping-machines. 
These interesting pieces of mechanism are so devised 
that a steady stream of material is fed from a hopper 
on to a rotating plate, where it is caught, and by high 
compression stamped into the permanent tablet form. 
There may be from ten to fifty stamps to a single 
machine, and the finished tablets are delivered like 
clockwork, at the rate of from 500 to 700 per minute. 



HOW MEDICINES ARE MADE 57 

Some special machines are capable of turning out 
as many as 1800 tablets in sixty seconds. 

A compressing-room, when operating to full 
capacity, is a busy place. The steady, monotonous 
click of the machines converting the trays of granu- 
lar powder into circular disks of various sizes with no 
apparent interruption, the hum of the shafting, and 
the rattle of the tablets as they are transferred to 
the big tin boxes cause one to pause and marvel at the 
developments that have taken place since Dunton, 
Kilgore, and Wyeth operated their hand-punches and 
single stamp-machines back in the sixties. 

Tablets are coated with sugar or chocolate by the 
same process that is employed in coating pills. Some- 
times the effect of chocolate is produced by mixing 
brown oxide of iron with the sugar syrup. 

The manufacture of tablet triturates dates from 
1861, when Dr. Robert M. Fuller perfected his process 
for compounding them. He did not exploit his inven- 
tion commercially, but in the late seventies Caswell, 
Hazard & Company and Boericke and Tafel offered 
the first triturates to the trade. 

Tablet triturates are the form in which calomel is 
popularly administered. Morphin tablets for making 
solutions for hypodermic injection are triturates, so 
prepared that they will dissolve in water almost in- 
stantly. Local anesthetics, such as cocain and novo- 
cain for dental use, are compounded in the form of 
hypodermic tablets. 

Great care is observed in weighing and mixing the 
ingredients of tablet triturates. In many cases the in- 



58 THE STORY OF DRUGS 

dividual tablet carries but a minute quantity of some 
very potent drug, perhaps one hundredth of a grain or 
even less. Hence, if an order calls for a hundred 
thousand units of this small grainage, it is essential 
that every precaution be taken to distribute the drug 
evenly through the excipient, which is usually milk- 
sugar, and that the weight of the mixture be adjusted, 
so that no more and no less than the prescribed quan- 
tity will be prepared. 

The powdered mixture is moistened until it is pasty 
enough to be handled like fondant. Then, by means 
of a thin-bladed blunt knife, the operator spreads the 
paste on a thin plate of brass or gutta-percha. These 
plates are perforated evenly with perhaps a hundred 
or more cylindrical holes of exactly the size that the 
finished tablet is to be. The plate is laid on a glass 
table-top. Any superfluous paste is scraped off, and 
the plate is then transferred to a dryer, where it stays 
until the moisture has evaporated. Skilled workers 
fill several hundred of these plates in the course of an 
hour's work. 

When the drying process is complete, another oper- 
ator takes the plate and presses it down on a forest 
of little rigid plugs just the size of the holes in the 
plate, and so coordinated that they fit accurately into 
each little aperture. In this way the tablets are 
forced out and can be brushed off into the bulk-con- 
tainer. 

We are all familiar with the little gelatin globules, 
or pedes, which are often colored red or green or 
yellow, and contain some liquid medicine like castor 
or sandalwood oil. They are usually firmer and more 



HOW MEDICINES AEE MADE 59 

resistant to the pressure of the fingers than the softer 
oval-shaped capsules employed for administering the 
same kind of medicines; but both are made in the 
same way. The elasticity of the gelatin depends upon 
the way it is manipulated prior to stamping out the 
capsules. It is dissolved in a steam-jacketed kettle 
with the proper proportion of water and glycerin, and 
when the consistency is right the hot liquid is fed out 
under a knife-edge on to the surface of metal plates 
about eight or nine inches square. The plates are 
transferred to racks in a drying-oven and dried for 
twenty-four hours. 

When the gelatin film has reached precisely the 
right degree of dryness, which is determined by the 
operator through the sense of touch, the films are 
stripped from the plate and laid on a metal mold filled 
with oval openings for the capsules and with round 
openings for the globules. The edges of the mold are 
raised somewhat, so that the gelatin film makes a kind 
of tray into which a measured quantity of the liquid 
that is to be inclosed in the capsules is poured. An- 
other film of the gelatin is placed on this liquid, the 
other half of the mold placed on the top, and the two 
halves of the mold slipped into a power-press, where 
it is subjected to a pressure of some twenty tons to the 
square inch. 

When removed from the mold the capsules or glob- 
ules appear in perfect form, but attached to the shreds 
of gelatin still left. They are then separated, rinsed 
several times in gasoline, dried, and put into boxes 
for shipment. 

Even more interesting than the manufacture of the 



60 THE STORY OF DRUGS 

globules and soft elastic capsules, is the process of 
making the hard capsules used as a medium for dis- 
pensing powders of some of the valuable and potent 
drugs, such as quinin sulphate, and aspirin. The 
machines for making these familiar articles are com- 
plicated pieces of mechanism that work with clock- 
like accuracy and precision. From start to finish the 
capsules are not touched by human hand. 

Rows of accurately ground phosphor-bronze pins 
approach the trough of melted gelatin. The latter 
automatically rises and covers the pins, then slowly 
drops back, and the bars of pins move on, turning 
as they go to prevent the warm gelatin from running 
down the sides, which would result in thin-headed 
capsules. These rows of pins are then carried into a 
long cooling-chamber, where the hardening takes place 
in the presence of washed air with which each in- 
indiviual machine is supplied. Sprocket-carrier 
chains convey the impaled capsules slowly to the back 
and up to the top of the machine, and from there they 
again approach the starting-point. 

As the bars reach the front of the machine the oper- 
ator removes them, placing those containing caps in 
one horizontal slot and those containing bodies in an- 
other. These bars drop down simultaneously; grip- 
pers seize the hardened shells of both the body and 
the cap, and force them into openings in circular disks. 
These disks are of the exact thickness one of the cap- 
sule body and the other of the cap, and they overlap 
each other slightly. 

A rotating knife trims the rough edges of both body 
and cap even with the flat surface of the disks, or 



HOW MEDICINES ARE MADE 61 

wheels, as they revolve, and then, as the two parts of 
the capsule are exactly opposite each other, the body 
and the cap are pushed gently but firmly together, 
and the capsule is now entirely finished. 

A capsule-filling machine is perhaps the most un- 
usual piece of apparatus in the factory of the manu- 
facturing pharmacy. It is almost human in its opera- 
tion, and decidedly more accurate. It is fitted with one 
hopper for holding the empty capsules, and another 
for the medicament that is to be contained in them. 
When all is ready, the power is turned on and the 
process begins. An empty capsule falls down a tube 
from its hopper into a little slot where the body is 
held by vacuum, the cap is clasped by finger-shaped 
clamps and lifted off, just the right amount of powder 
falls into the body, the cap is pushed back in place, 
the vacuum is shut off, and the filled capsule falls to 
one side into a box. The entire operation consumes 
but an instant of time and is entirely automatic. After 
adjusting the machine so that it will deliver the proper 
quantity of powder, the operator has nothing to do 
but see that the hoppers are replenished, from time 
to time, with more empty capsules and more powder. 

The machines turn out many thousands of filled cap- 
sules a day, and in the larger factories have replaced 
the old laborious method of hand filling. 

In making ointments and cold creams the aim is to 
produce a smooth, uniform preparation in which the 
drugs are evenly distributed through the unctuous 
base. Various substances of an oily nature, such as 
petrolatum, lanolin (pure wool grease), or lard, some- 
times stiffened with a little paraffin or beeswax, and 



62 THE STORY OF DRUGS 

smoothed out with poppy- or cotton-seed oil, are melted 
together. The mass is transferred to a mixing-ma- 
chine fitted with revolving blades, and the medicating 
agents, coloring matter, and perfumes added. The 
ingredients are thoroughly incorporated with one an- 
other in this apparatus, and the semi-fluid mixture is 
then transferred to a paint-mill, from which the 
smooth ointment emerges in a thin stream. Some- 
times it is necessary to pass the product several times 
through this mill in order to break up and mix the 
particles of solid that would otherwise cause a gritty 
sensation when the ointment is rubbed on to the body. 

Tooth-pastes are prepared in the same way; but 
these are usually made up on a glycerin or sugar base 
instead of the fats and oils that characterize ointments. 

The general principles of making fluid and solid ex- 
tracts, pills, tablets, capsules, and ointments that have 
been outlined in this chapter are employed in all the 
manufacturing pharmaceutical plants. Formulas of 
special nature may require special procedures in order 
to yield a product of the right character. Certain 
types of medicines require unusual care and conditions 
for their safe and successful production. Lithia tab- 
lets must be made in a room where the air is dehumidi- 
fied, otherwise they will spoil. Methylene-blue cap- 
sules must be prepared in a building set apart from 
the rest of the factory, in order that this substance, 
which contaminates everything near it, will not spoil 
other preparations. Bichloride of mercury tablets 
must be manufactured in a unit separate from the 
general tablet plant, in order that the dangerous drug 
may not accidentally become mixed with the ingredi- 



HOW MEDICINES ARE MADE 63 

ents of the numerous other formulas that are be- 
ing prepared. 

Very elaborate equipment is often installed for com- 
pounding special preparations, but the general prin- 
ciples of grinding the drugs, macerating, percolating, 
and mixing, are the same, no matter what may be the 
medicine finally evolved. When a formula calls for 
the blending of a number of different liquids with per- 
haps some chemical to be dissolved in the solution, it is 
usual to dissolve the substance in water or alcohol and 
then transfer the liquor to a large mixing-tank fitted 
with a mechanical stirrer. The stirrer consists of a 
number of paddles set at different angles on a vertical 
shaft and rotated by power. The various components 
are added separately and the mixture agitated until it 
is uniform in character. These mixing-tanks often 
have a capacity of five hundred or a thousand gallons. 
Beef, iron, and wine preparations, elixirs, syrups, es- 
sence of pepsin, liniments, etc., are made up in this 
way. 

Emulsions are medicines designed for the adminis- 
tration of some viscous oil in a finely divided state and 
in a palatable form. They often contain chemical 
salts such as the hypophosphites. It is essential that 
there be present a certain proportion of a so-called 
emulsifying agent, usually a gum or albumin with per- 
haps a little gelatin. The most familiar emulsions are 
those that contain cod-liver oil or liquid petroleum, 
and the oil content may run from 25 to 50 per cent., the 
balance consisting of water, emulsifying agent, inor- 
ganic salts, and flavor. 



64 THE STORY OF DRUGS 

The first step in the process of manufacture consists 
in making a uniform mixture of the gum or mucilage of 
the emulsifying agent with a part of the oil. This is 
put into a stirring-machine arranged like an enormous 
egg-beater, and when the proper rate of rotation is de- 
veloped the balance of the formula is gradually added. 
First a portion of the water with the salts in solution 
is thoroughly incorporated, then more oil, then more 
water, and so on until at last, when all the bulk ingred- 
ients are in, the flavor is added. The better grades of 
emulsions are run through homogenizing-machines. 
By means of these pieces of mechanism the viscous 
liquid is forced at an enormous pressure in fine 
streams against metal plates, whereby the oil globules 
are divided into infinitesimal particles, and the emul- 
sion becomes so uniform that it is as smooth and fluffy 
as the finest whipped cream, and never separates. 

In some of the large medicine plants concerned with 
the manufacture of only one specialty, the arrange- 
ment of the apparatus and machinery is such that the 
compounding of the different ingredients of the prep- 
aration is progressive. If it is a liquid, the first step 
of the process being completed, the percolate, or what- 
ever the form may be, is pumped through pipes into 
the receptacle where the next operation is to take place. 
Sometimes there may be as many as a dozen different 
steps before the finished product finally emerges. It 
is the usual thing to prepare a batch, say, of 1500 gal- 
lons at a time, and the plant is so constructed that it 
can take care of the work in a convenient unit of time. 

Most of the popular legitimate liquid patent medi- 





jflf 




FIRST AUTOMATIC TABLET-PUNCHING 
MACHINE USED IN AMERICA AND 
STILL IN USE 



MODERN ROTARY PUNCH TABLET 
MACHINE 




MOULD FOR MAKING TABLET TRITURATES 




A Row of Pill Machines 




A Single Machine 




Coating the Pills 
HOW PILLS AltE MADE 



HOW MEDICINES AEE MADE 65 

cines are made according to this program. A good 
example is the case of Lydia Pinkham's Vegetable 
Compound, which is made in one of the best equipped 
medicine plants in the world. The factory is open to 
visitors, who are shown the entire process from the 
time the various crude drugs are ground up, prepar- 
atory to percolating, until the finished medicine is bot- 
tled. The ground drugs are first moistened with the 
solvent, which consists of diluted alcohol. After a suf- 
ficient period has elapsed and the valuable components 
of the drugs have been brought into solution, the mix- 
ture goes into a battery of percolators, from which the 
liquid is drawn off. Water is introduced to wash out 
the solvent adhering to the drug particles, and this is 
continued until enough has been run through the per- 
colators to bring the alcoholic strength of the entire 
batch down to the amount that has been found neces- 
sary to keep the finished preparation from spoiling. 
After passing through an elaborate pasteurization and 
filtering system, the medicine is stored in immense 
glass-lined metal tanks, being kept there not less than 
three weeks before being bottled. It is then pasteur- 
ized again, and run down to a tank over the bottling- 
room, from which it is drawn directly into recently 
sterilized bottles. The bottling-room is inclosed from 
the rest of the plant, and, to render the conditions as 
aseptic as possible, the air that enters the room is fil- 
tered so that it is free from contaminating microorgan- 
isms, wild yeasts, and mold-spores. 

Individual factories usually feature unusual pieces 
of equipment. They may be special machines for 



66 THE STORY OF DRUGS 

automatically filling the bottles with pills or tablets. 
The devices are so constituted that the pills are re- 
ceived in measured quantities from a hopper, run 
down a spout into a waiting bottle, which is pushed 
aside and corked. Another bottle is ready to receive 
another shower of pills, and so the process continues, 
the operator from time to time filling the hopper with 
pills and the bottle-feeder with an endless supply of 
containers. 

Filling-machines force accurately measured amounts 
of tooth-paste, cold cream, glycerin jelly, and emol- 
lients of all sorts into collapsible tubes. Another kind 
of automatic filler is used for filling cans with talcum 
powder, zinc stearate, etc. Machines with molds of 
various shapes, and working at great pressure, convert 
mixtures of cocoa butter and other drugs into supposi- 
tories. Intricate mechanism, equaling a dozen hands 
in its capacity for work, attaches the labels to the bot- 
tles with an unfailing nicety, surpassing the human 
touch. 

In every pharmaceutical house of any pretension at 
all, the drugs and chemicals are examined by a corps 
of skilled chemists and their identity and purity estab- 
lished before they are made up into medicines. Many 
of the operations are subject to analytical control, and 
the finished products are tested, either chemically or 
physiologically, in order ithat their compliance with the 
proper standards may be assured. Research chemists 
are constantly at work striving to eliminate defects in 
manufacturing details, developing better methods of 



HOW MEDICINES ABE MADE 67 

purification, and evolving new products or valuable 
derivatives of those already in use. 

The modern medicine-mauf acturing plant is a devel- 
opment of the past seventy-five years. The ever-in- 
creasing demand for agents that make sick men well 
has taxed the ingenuity of the scientists and the mech- 
anician. One has evolved the numerous types of 
standard remedies and the myriad meritorious formu- 
las; the other has invented and perfected apparatus 
required to produce preparations of stable and uni- 
form character in large quantities. Medicines to-day 
must be made of materials of the highest quality ob- 
tainable, attractive in appearance, unfailing in their 
remedial action, and so carefully standardized that 
the physician can with assurance anticipate what to 
expect from their administration. Their supply must 
be unfailing, which means that adequate stocks of the 
thousands and thousands of formulas and combina- 
tions must be kept in reserve by the manufacturer 
and wholesaler. The dispensing pharmacist long ago 
ceased to be a factor in the preparation of medicines 
for general distribution. The pace was too severe. 
The factory, with all the advantage of systematic 
management and labor-saving machinery, has been the 
logical evolution. 



CHAPTER IV 

THE HOLE OF AX.COHOL 

In the chemical industries the employment of certain 
substances is essential for the successful conduct of 
various reactions that finally consummate in the fin- 
ished products. The.se substances may or may not 
function in the makeup of the things they assist to 
create. The dye industry could not exist without an 
unlimited supply of sulphuric acid, and it was not un- 
til a very cheap form of this acid was obtainable from 
a commercial contact process, invented about 1889, 
that it was possible for the Germans to prepare arti- 
ficial indigo at a price that could compete with the 
naturally grown dye. Before this accomplishment the 
source of the extensively used dye-stuff had been the 
leaves of the indigo plant, which was grown for the 
purpose in enormous quantities in India. In our 
Southern States commercial fertilizers are made from 
huge deposits of phosphate rock by the action of sul- 
phuric acid, which decomposes the mineral, setting 
free the valuable phosphates in a form that is readily 
taken up by growing plants. In the first-named indus- 
try the acid acts almost solely as a reagent and is not 
an essential part of the finished dye, but in the ferti- 
lizers most or all of the acid remains in an altered and 
non-corrosive form. 

In the medicine industry, which is really only a 

68 



THE EOLE OF ALCOHOL 69 

branch of the chemical industry, there is one agent that 
stands out above all others making for its develop- 
ment, and that is alcohol. Without alcohol the prep- 
aration of drugs and medicinal chemicals, with their 
present high state of refinement, would have been im- 
possible. If deprived of alcohol the makers of medi- 
cines and high-grade chemicals would be unable to con- 
duct their business; the industry would languish and 
eventually perish. 

This may appear to be an absurd statement, but a 
few minutes ' thought will confirm its correctness. It 
may be asked how the supply of alcohol concerns the 
millions and millions of pills and tablets, effervescent 
salts, powders, and other things of like sort that are 
sold all over the country, and that contain no alcohol 
or any other liquid in their make-up. There is hardly 
a pill or tablet formula that does not contain sojne val- 
uable ingredient, either in the form of a drug extract, 
which has been obtained from a crude drug by means 
of alcohol as a dissolving agent ; or an alkaloid or other 
pure substance made by a process that had necessi- 
tated the use of alcohol as either a crystallizing med- 
ium or a reacting component. If alcohol had not as- 
sisted in shaping the ingredients, the pills and tablets 
could not have been created. Then, there are the 
many liquid preparations, standard fluid extracts, tinc- 
tures, liquid tonics, digestives, and other specialities 
numbering into the thousands, that require alcohol to 
hold their remedial principles in solution and keep the 
preparations from spoiling. Nothing else thus far 
discovered has been able to supplant alcohol as a basic 
material for the medicine industry. 



70 THE STORY OF DRUGS 

The general public is more or less familiar with 
three kinds of alcohol — grain, wood, and denatured. 
Grain alcohol is the one that is necessary to the medi- 
cine industry, though special formulas of denatured 
alcohol, which depend upon grain alcohol as a basic 
constituent, have an extended use, either in certain 
types of intermediate operations leading up to a non- 
alcoholic galenical preparation, or as a component 
functioning in the finished product. The whole ques- 
tion of denatured alcohol will be discussed later in the 
chapter. 

Grain alcohol is known to the chemist as ethyl alco- 
hol, and is one of a group of chemical substances of the 
organic series that resemble each other in their general 
reactions, and are known as ! alcohols. The grouping of 
the atoms in the molecule of the substances determines 
the alcohol characteristics, and the only difference in 
the composition of the members of the series is the 
number of carbon and hydrogen atoms. Wood or 
methyl alcohol has the smallest molecule ; in fact, it is 
impossible for the chemist to conceive of a true alcohol 
with a lower molecular weight, as the term is, in or- 
ganic chemistry. Ethyl alcohol is the next member in 
the series, and differs from methyl alcohol in having 
one more carbon and two more hydrogen atoms. 
Then, on going up the series, we pass over two or three 
alcohols of little importance, and come to the amyl al- 
cohols, of which there are eight, all of the same size 
molecule, but differing in the way the atoms are ar- 
ranged, though the particular group on which the "al- 
coholic" characteristics depend is the same in all of 
them. The amyl alcohols, with some of those inter- 



THE ROLE OF ALCOHOL 71 

mediate between them and ethyl alcohol, comprise the 
fusel oil- which is so feared by the whisky-drinker — 
or perhaps it would be better to say, not by the con- 
firmed whisky-drinker, but by him who takes it oc- 
casionally, and for medicinal use only. 

The molecule of methyl alcohol contains one atom of 
carbon, one of oxygen, and four of hydrogen. Ethyl 
alcohol contains two carbon atoms, one oxygen, and six 
hydrogen. They may be expressed graphically as fol- 
lows, and a glance at the formulas will show how 
closely they are related : 

CH3OH Methyl alcohol (wood alcohol). 

CH 3 CH 2 OH Ethyl alcohol (grain alcohol). 

The two atoms presented in the form "OH" deter- 
mine the alcoholic character from the chemist's point 
of view. They constitute a group which in organic 
chemistry is called hydroxyl. This group is always 
present in a true alcohol. It causes- the substance con- 
taining it to have certain specific reactions toward 
other substances. When we find a substance possess- 
ing these properties to the exclusion of those that char- 
acterize other well defined groups of substances, such 
as acids, we place it in the alcohol family. 

Grain alcohol is so designated because its prepara- 
tion has from time immemorial been known to depend 
upon the use of rye, corn, and other starchy grains. 
As a matter of fact, any starch-containing product will 
yield alcohol when properly treated. Potatoes fur- 
nish a cheap and abundant source, and most of the al- 
cohol made in Germany comes from these tubers. The 
development of the alcohol industry by the Germans, 
which resulted in an almost unlimited supply of the 



72 THE STORY OF DRUGS 

commodity, is one of the reasons why the chemical in- 
dustry has attained the commanding place that it has 
among the German industries. But, in order to yield 
alcohol, starch from any -source- must be converted into 
sugar — not the familiar cane-sugar, which is not fer- 
mentable, but into a simpler variety of sugar. Be- 
cause it is necessary first to get sugar before alcohol 
can be made, it transpires that one of the best sources 
of alcohol is now the refuse molasses of sugar fac- 
tories. 

In the old days the conversion of starch to sugar was 
brought about by the action of a ferment on the mois- 
tened grain. Dias.tase was the ferment employed, and 
it was added to the grain in the form of ground malt. 
Diastase belongs to a group of substances called en- 
zymes. They are also termed " unorganized fer- 
ments,' ' because they do not appear to act in reproduc 
ing themselves, as yeast-cells do. Yeast is an organ- 
ized f etrment, a vegetable growth, and takes part in the 
second stage of the alcohol process, though recent in- 
vestigations indicate that yeast itself contains an un- 
organized ferment to which its activity may be actually 
due. At present the starch conversion is brought 
about largely through the aid of dilute acids, which 
have the property, too, of changing starch into simple 
sugars. When molasses syrups furnish the crude 
material, the conversion of the cane-sugar to the sim- 
pler forms is also brought about by acids. 

From whatever source the sacchariferous mixture 
comes, be it from grain, potatoes, or molasses, there is 
only one way that the conversion to alcohol can be 
brought about, and that is by the use of yeast. The 



THE ROLE OF ALCOHOL 73 

yeast must work on the simple sugars until they have 
all been changed, and during this process large quanti- 
ties of carbonic-acid gas are produced. Some of the 
higher alcohols are produced in small measure, and 
when the mixture is later subjected to distillation, they 
come over with the other volatile substances, constitu- 
ting the fusel oil to which we have already referred. 
Alcohol is not created by distillation, as many people 
seem to think. It results from the workings of a nat- 
urally living body, analogous to a bacterium, or per- 
haps a vitamine, to which subject considerable space is 
devoted in a later chapter. Without yeast we should 
have little or no alcohol, and that which we might ob- 
tain would be more or less of a chemical curiosity. 
Wood alcohol is produced only by a process of distil- 
lation; it cannot be obtained by the aid of yeast, and 
the distillation process by whic'h it is made is of an en- 
tirely different character from that employed in sep- 
arating ethyl alcohol when the conversion of the sugar 
is completed by the yeast. 

The separation of the created alcohol is a purely 
mechanical process. The unsightly mixture resulting 
from the yeast fermentation is placed in a large still 
and heated. When the temperature rises sufficiently, 
the alcohol and some of the water become vaporized, 
rise from the bulk of the mass, and pass over into a 
condensing device, from which emerges a crude mix- 
ture of alcohol, water, and various other substances. 
By rectification most of the water and all of the other 
impurities are eliminated, and a product containing 
from 94 to 96 per cent, ethyl alcohol results. This is 
the alcohol of the medicine-maker. 



74 THE STORY OF DRUGS 

In the national prohibition law alcohol is classed as 
a liquor. Its manufacture, sale, and use is surrounded 
by a mass of regulation that causes much hardship and 
dissatisfaction to the legitimate users. Prohibition- 
ists look upon alcohol as a beverage, while those inter- 
ested in the production and use of the commodity main- 
tain that it is not a potable substance. Strictly speak- 
ing, the claims of neither side are justified. Alcohol 
of full strength cannot be imbibed, but it can be diluted 
to a degree that will render the mixture unobjection- 
able; so, if the spirit of the Eighteenth Amendment 
is to be carried into effect, it is probably inevitable 
that the alcohol trade will have to suffer the imposition 
of certain restrictions. The unfortunate circumstance 
is that alcohol as a medium for the manufacture of 
drugs and medicines has to be treated as a liquor in 
the same way as whisky, wine, and other alcoholic bev- 
erages. Hence it ought to be made the subject of 
special provisions and methods of administration; its 
legitimate use facilitated and not hampered, as is now 
the case. 

Pure alcohol possesses a happy combination of prop- 
erties that make it an ideal agent for preparing drugs 
and medicines. It has a slight and unobjectionable 
odor, and is virtually tasteless. It mixes freely with 
water. It dissolves most of the valuable principles 
from the vegetable drugs, leaving behind the inert 
and useless portions that usually predominate. It 
resists the action of microorganisms, which are the 
cause of spoilage, and, when incorporated into liquid 
mixtures in the proportion of 18 per cent, or more, 
will protect them indefinitely from the deleterious 



THE KOLE OF ALCOHOL 75 

actions of these bodies. It does not solidify even at 
the extreme temperatures of the severest winters; 
hence its presence in reasonable quantities in liquid 
preparations serves to protect them from freezing 
and consequent loss through breakage of bottles and 
other unpleasant accompaniments. It has a compara- 
tively low toxicity — so weak, in fact, that it is not ap- 
parent or even a matter for consideration in judging 
the potency of a medicine in which it functions. As 
an intermediate for dissolving valuable substances, 
separating them from others, or holding them in solu- 
tion until they slowly crystallize, it fills many useful 
purposes in the plant of the chemical and medicine 
manufacturer. It can be produced at a reasonable 
cost and can be made available in unlimited quantities. 

The high tax on pure alcohol has prevented its use 
for many purposes where otherwise it would have 
been employed. It costs perhaps twenty cents a 
gallon to make, but each gallon is taxed as high as 
four or five dollars, and some grades even higher, so 
that the price the user has to pay determines in a 
large measure the extent of its application. Fortu- 
nately for the industry, the policy of providing tax- 
free denatured alcohol for special manufacturing pur- 
poses has lifted the burdens of the manufacturer to a 
certain degree, and the future outlook in this direc- 
tion is bright. 

Broadly speaking, there are two classes of liquid 
medicines in which alcohol functions as a part of 
the finished product : those for internal and those for 
external administration. The former may be further 
divided into those preparations that are prescribed 



± 



76 THE STORY OF DRUGS 

at full strength or diluted with perhaps a volume or 
two of water, and those of which only a few drops are 
added to a considerable quantity of water before tak- 
ing. Internal medicines that are used at full strength 
or at moderate dilution seldom contain more than 
twenty per cent, of alcohol. Those prescribed in small 
quantities, and which often contain highly potent reme- 
dial agents, may contain fifty per cent, or more alcohol. 
Such medicines are not handled to any extent as popu- 
lar remedies, being usually high-potency fluid extracts 
kept by the retail druggist for prescription work. 
Liquid medicines employed externally usually contain 
at least 35 per cent, alcohol, and it may run up to 80 
or even 90 per cent. 

Liquid remedies need at least 18 or 20 per cent, 
of alcohol to keep them from spoiling, unless they con- 
tain other preservative agents that inhibit the growth 
of microorganisms. Even then a reduction in the 
quantity of alcohol cannot be contemplated if the in- 
gredients are of such a nature that this agent is 
needed to keep them dissolved. Many valuable potent 
drugs are soluble only in alcoholic mixtures of rela- 
tively high strength. That is the reason that lini- 
ments, antiseptic washes, gargles, and preparations 
of this sort that fall in the class of external reme- 
dies require a goodly proportion of the solvent. 

Most of the standard medicines of the Pharma- 
copoeia and the National Formulary contain more al- 
cohol in their make-up than do the popular remedies 
that are sold for self-administration. The tinctures 
of camphor, iodin, and ginger, all of which are indis- 
pensable remedies, are necessarily of high alcoholic 



THE ROLE OF ALCOHOL 77 

strength; otherwise the valuable ingredients on which 
their remedial value depends would not be held in 
solution. The compilers of the Pharmacopoeia and 
the National Formulary are representatives of the pro- 
fessions of pharmacy and medicines, who meet in 
convention once in every ten years for the purpose 
of revising those standards on which the practice of 
pharmacy and medicine are based. One group of 
specialists prepares the Pharmacopoeia, another the 
Formulary. The standards finally adopted are pub- 
lished in book form, and are authoritative for the 
ensuing decade. Both authorities are now recognized 
in the law of the land. The work of the Bureau of 
Internal Revenue in the administration of the prohibi- 
tion law, and of the Department of Agriculture in the 
administration of the Food and Drugs Act in so far 
as it relates to drugs and medicines, is based on the 
standards prescribed by the Pharmacopoeia and the 
National Formulary. So there* is ample authority, 
based on the recommendation of the highest scien- 
tific talent and recognized by our law-making bodies, 
for the existence of medicines with high alcoholic 
content. 

It can be asserted with authority that no legitimate 
liquid medicinal preparations made in this country 
to-day contain more alcohol than is absolutely neces- 
sary. The policy of the makers of medicines in recent 
years has been to reduce alcoholic content wherever 
possible. They are urged to do this from ethical as 
well as from commercial motives. The proposition 
of wholly or partially substituting alcohol has been 
made the subject of exhaustive study. It has been 



78 THE STORY OF DRUGS 

found that many preparations that formerly contained 
considerable quantities of alcohol can, by proper ma- 
nipulation, be presented in a non-alcoholic form or 
with a greatly reduced alcoholic percentage. This does 
not necessarily mean that the use of alcohol has not 
been required in any stage of their preparation, be- 
cause this agent may be necessary and desirable for 
conducting the stages of manufacture leading up to 
the finished product. 

In some medicines of low alcoholic content it has 
been found that glycerin as a partial solvent and a 
partial preservative is a satisfactory and readily 
available substitute. Its employment in most cases, 
however, must be reinforced by other agents, both for 
keeping certain ingredients in solution and to prevent 
the product from spoiling. 

There are, however, certain types of reconstructive 
tonics and elixirs, containing strongly combined metal- 
lic salts and alkaloidal salts, from which alcohol can be 
easily eliminated, and glycerin substituted, and in 
some cases the addition of other preservatives is un- 
necessary. 

When we come to the vast legion of formulas con- 
taining vegetable drugs, the problem of substitutes be- 
comes complex, and each combination is a research 
in itself. There are several ways of bringing about 
the solution of the essential ingredients and the incor- 
poration of the extract into a finished product. With 
some formulas direct percolation with relatively strong 
glycerin menstrua, augmented perhaps by the addition 
of mild alkali or weak acid, depending on the nature 



THE SOLE OF ALCOHOL 79 

of the drugs, will effect the desired results. The 
glycerin extract can be combined with the other in- 
gredients of the formula, and the whole adjusted to 
the desired proportion. With others a preliminary- 
percolation must be made with alcohol, and the solvent 
recovered, the syrupy extract being fcaken up in the 
glycerin and then diluted. Again the alcoholic per- 
colate must be mixed with glycerin and the volatile 
solvent recovered, on the theory that it is easier to 
keep something in solution than to bring it down to 
solid form and then try to dissolve it again. 

It has been surprising to note how many vegetable 
drugs will yield to water alone the great bulk of the 
valuable constituents on which their therapeutic ac- 
tivity depends, and when the solvent action of water is 
combined with that of glycerin and other common 
agents, to observe how many will yield good medicines 
without the presence of any alcohol. 

As a general proposition glycerin alone, in a liquid %- 
medicine compounded with mixed drugs, cannot be 
depended upon as a preservative. Of course, if it 
were used in amounts of 50 per cent, or more, perhaps 
this generalization would not apply; but products 
containing this quantity would in few instances be 
practicable, and would usually differ so in appearance 
from the original formulas that the trade in them 
might be affected. 

Mixtures containing sugar are difficult to preserve 
with glycerin, and the presence of certain drugs will 
support spoilage organisms even when 35 per cent, or 
more of glycerin is used. When sugar has been used 



80 THE STORY OF DRUGS 

to give "body" to a product, as well as a certain 
sweetness, it can be eliminated or reduced considerably 
by the addition of glycerin ; and where a certain degree 
of sweetness is essential, any reduction of this quality 
due to the lack of sugar can be made up by a minute 
amount of saccharin. 

When we come to the substitution of alcohol in 
products where it has been necessary to use 35 per 
cent, or more of the solvent, an entirely different set 
of conditions is presented. Very few of the well 
known substances will dissolve essential oils, camphor, 
menthol, and the like, and still mix with water. Ace- 
tone mixes with water, and has been used successfully 
in external remedies, such as liniments and pain- 
killers, where the odor has been masked by the pres- 
ence* of highly aromatic oils. But there is a preju- 
dice against its use in any remedy that might be cap- 
able of internal use, owing to its supposed toxicity. 
From experiments recently conducted, it would appear 
that the toxicity of acetone has been exaggerated, 
and that the reports of its toxicity may have been due 
to the fact that it is found in the excretions accompany- 
ing certain diseases, rather than to any actual proof 
of deleterious effects caused by ingestion. 

Among the chemical industries we find alcohol play- 
ing a major role in the production of ether. This 
invaluable anesthetic contains in its molecule two 
groupings derived from alcohol, which are known to 
the chemist as the ethyl groups. These assemblages 
of a'toms are united by an atom of oxygen, producing 
a substance that bears no resemblance to alcohol in 
the way it acts toward other bodies. A glance at the 



THE ROLE OF ALCOHOL 81 

following .graphic formulas will explain the relation- 
ship of the two bodies: 

CH 3 CH 2 OH, alcohol. 

CH 3 CH 2 , usually written C 2 H 5 , ethyl group. 
C 2 H 5 .O.C 2 H 5 , ether. 

It is made by the action of sulphuric acid on alcohol. 
The two ingredients are combined in the proper pro- 
portions, and after an interval has elapsed, during 
which an intermediary body is formed, the mixture is 
heated in a still, and ether begins to pass over through 
a condensing-worm. More alcohol is constantly added 
and the process continued indefinitely, alcohol going 
into the still and ether coming out at the end of the 
condenser. Enormous quantities are used annually, 
the grade of highest purity in the hospitals and dis- 
pensaries, the less highly refined in the arts and indus- 
tries requiring its use as a solvent for special pur- 
poses, and for removing the alcohol in the final process 
of the manufacture of gun-cotton and smokeless pow- 
der. 

Hundreds of high-grade synthetic chemicals, many 
of which, like sulphonal, veronal, phenacetin, ethyl 
chloride (a commonly employed local anesthetic), 
chloral, and novocain, are valuable medicinal agents, 
contain ethyl groupings in their molecules. Alcohol 
is the only commercially available source of the ethyl 
group. 1 Without alcohol these bodies could not be 

i Processes have been developed in recent years whereby ethyl-con- 
taining compounds are being recovered from the natural gas of some 
of our Central and Middle Western States. By this means a new 
source of the important ethyl radicle has been made available, and 
may continue to be drawn upon as long as the natural gas continues 
to flow. 



82 THE STORY OF DRUGS 

made; in fact, synthetic organic chemistry would be 
at a standstill. 

The early recognition by Germany of the impor- 
tance of alcohol for use over the wide field that has 
been outlined in the foregoing paragraphs, and the en- 
couragement of its production by every possible means, 
led to the phenomenal development of her dye and 
chemical industries. To quote a national authority 
on the alcohol situation, James M. Doran 2 of the 
Bureau of Internal Revenue, "It might well be stated 
that without Germany's alcohol and allied chemical 
industries her military and economic defense would 
have crumbled two years before the armistice." 

When the authorities in other countries became alive 
to the state of affairs in Germany, and saw that her. 
supremacy in the dye and synthetic chemical field was 
imminent, steps were taken to adopt some means by 
which cheap alcohol could be made available for the 
industries, in order to compete with the government- 
produced, excise-free product being supplied to the 
German manufacturers. It must be borne in mind 
that in this country the Treasury has always derived a 
large revenue from distilled spirits, and a code of 
revenue laws was enacted years ago that is without 
parallel in its minute supervision of all phases of 
the industry. Manufacturing operations depending 
upon the use of alcohol could be developed only under 
great hardships, due to the incubus of the beverage 
tax laws. The same general conditions have prevailed 
in Great Britain. 

In order to reconcile the needs of the country for 

2 Chemical Age, 1920, p. 317. 



THE ROLE OF ALCOHOL 83 

a source of revenue and the needs of the manufac- 
turing interests for a cheap form of alcohol, pro- 
vision was finally made in 1906, by Congressional 
action, whereby denatured or industrial tax-free 
alcohol was made available for certain limited pur- 
poses. As the years have gone by, the privilege of 
using denatured alcohol has been extended, until to-day 
there is more of it consumed than tax-paid alcohol. 
In 1917, our great war year, 55,000,000 gallons were 
used, and in 1919 approximately 35,000,000 gallons, 
which may be considered a fairly normal average for 
the industries at their present stage of development 
in peace times. 

The expression "denatured alcohol" is not well 
understood by the public. The idea is prevalent that 
it means something poisonous, and there are good 
reasons for this deep-rooted belief, due to the press 
reports that from time to time have detailed lurid 
accounts of the dire results attending the accidental 
or intentional drinking of denatured alcohol. In 
order to clear up the confusion of the meaning of the 
term, it should be stated that our alcohol laws provide 
for two classes of denatured alcohol: (1) completely 
denatured alcohol, of which there are at present five 
different formulas, and (2) specially denatured alcohol, 
of which there are some forty or more authorized. 
Completely denatured alcohol is the commodity that 
reaches the general public as a fuel for spirit-lamps, 
for use as an anti-freezing agent for automobile radi- 
ators, for bathing and rubbing, for dissolving var- 
nishes and shellac, and for many other purposes 
common to everyday life and activity. Specially de- 



84 THE STORY OF DRUGS 

natured alcohol can be used only for special purposes 
and under somewhat restrictive conditions. 

Until recently the formulas granted have been for 
alcohol taking part in manufacturing processes, the 
finished products themselves containing no alcohol. 
But within recent years the scope has been greatly 
extended, and now there are several formulas of de- 
natured alcohol that are sanctioned for use in develop- 
ing preparations which contain the alcohol when ready 
for market. The theory along which this development 
is taking place is the addition to the alcohol of some 
material that will prevent its use as a beverage, while 
enhancing its value for commercial purposes. The 
denaturing substances, while rendering the alcohol un- 
fit to drink even when diluted to a potable strength, 
are not necessarily of a toxic nature ; .in fact, when 
the denatured alcohol is to function in a finished prep- 
aration, one of the conditions prescribed is that the 
substances added must not make it unduly dangerous. 

To summarize the present situation, we have com- 
pletely denatured alcohol for general use, prepared 
with the addition of ingredients that render its use 
as a beverage impossible. We have specially de- 
natured alcohol for use solely in manufacturing proc- 
esses, usually denatured with some substance that 
functions in the preparation of the material. Finally, 
we have specially denatured alcohol for making vari- 
ous articles of the trade, where the alcohol remains in 
the product along with denaturing agents. 

It is unfortunate that the original basic denaturant 
authorized in this country was the substance wood 
alcohol. It has always been looked upon as a poison- 



THE KOLE OF ALCOHOL 85 

ous agent, and with considerable reason ; for there are 
many fatalities resulting from the drinking of the 
alcohol and preparations made from it. Because of 
these accidents the terms "denatured alcohol" and 
i ' poison' ' have become closely associated in the public 
mind. The original formula was revoked early in 
1919, and the last completely denatured alcohol author- 
ized, Number 6, contains no wood alcohol whatsoever. 
But no concern need be felt because specially de- 
natured alcohol is employed by the trade in the prepa- 
ration of various commodities. In those preparations 
where advantage has been taken of the privilege to 
use a special denatured alcohol to develop a finished 
liquid, such as a liniment or hair tonic, the denaturing 
agents, while rendering the alcohol unfit to drink, are 
relatively innocuous, and the preparation is no more 
dangerous because denatured alcohol is employed than 
it was when pure tax-paid alcohol was used as the dis- 
solving medium. 

It would not be fair to the public to permit this 
general statement to go forth without qualifications, 
because not long ago a specially denatured alcohol 
was authorized, for use in making perfumes and toilet 
waters, which depends on a substance known as brucin 
to make it unfit to drink. Brucin is very bitter and 
belongs to a class of substances known as alkaloids. 
It occurs in nature with strychnin in the drug nux 
vomica, to which it is closely related in its chemical 
structure. When strychnines extracted from the crude 
drug and purified by the manufacturing chemist, 
brucin is a by-product. Heretofore it has been of 
scarcely any importance commercially, but its intense 



86 THE STOEY OF DRUGS 

bitterness and availability in fairly large quantities 
suggested its use as a denaturing agent. 

Whether or not there is justification for the use of 
this substance in a class of articles that have such 
wide distribution as perfumes and toilet waters can 
be judged only by the happenings of the future. As 
we have stated above, brucin is closely related to 
strychnin, the toxic nature of which is too well known 
to be emphasized. It is used more extensively for 
destroying predatory animals than for any other pur- 
pose, the customary method being to mix the strychnin 
with a holding substance such as fullers ' earth and a 
sweetening agent such as saccharin, the combination 
then incorporated into a mass of moist grain, ground 
meat, or blood, depending on the nature of the animal 
to be put out of the way. The theory of the practice 
is that the fullers ' earth will cover up the bitterness 
of the strychnin for a sufficient period to permit the 
ingestion of enough material to kill the animal, the 
saccharin providing a further disguise and a certain 
amount of palatability. Government investigators 
engaged in the work of controlling the predatory crea- 
tures, wolves, coyotes, gophers, ground-squirrels, and 
the like, have experimented extensively with brucin, 
with the idea of substituting it for strychnin. Their 
researches have shown that, while brucin seems to 
act as efficaciously as strychnin as a killing agent, its 
bitterness is of such a character that it is not suffi- 
ciently obtunded to permit of the ingestion of a toxic 
dose before the creature is aware of its presence and 
disgorges the mixture. Their reason for not recom- 
mending brucin as a killing agent has not been because 



THE ROLE OF ALCOHOL 87 

of its lack of toxicity, but because the animals could 
not be made to take the bait. There are commercial 
mixtures on the market for destroying animals, which 
consist of equal parts of strychnin and brucin, and 
which appear to be just as efficacious for the purpose 
as strychnin alone. So there the situation rests 
to-day. 

At this point in this discussion we will insert a 
few remarks explaining: what wood alcohol is. In 
telling about grain alcohol it was said that the creation 
of this substance was brought about by the action on 
certain sugars of an unorganized ferment existing in 
the cells of the yeast. In other words, it is a natural 
creation, not a product of synthesis or artificial manip- 
ulation of any kind. Wood alcohol, on the contrary, 
is produced by an artificial process that depends on 
heating wood or any vegetable substance containing 
a large quantity of cellulose (wood-fiber) in a closed 
container out of contact with air. The process is 
known as destructive distillation, the heat applied be- 
ing sufficient to break up the complex cellulose mole- 
cule, containing a large number of carbon, hydrogen, 
and oxygen atoms, into a number of simpler substances 
of comparatively low molecular weight. The bodies 
in the form of vapor pass over into a condensing-tube, 
where they are liquefied and run out from the end of 
the apparatus as an evil-smelling liquid known as 
pyroligneous acid. Among the products composing 
this liquid are water, acetic acid, acetone, methyl 
alcohol, cresols, aldehydes, and other organic com- 
pounds. The acid is neutralized with lime, and the 
acetone, methyl alcohol, and other volatile constituents 



88 THE STORY OF DRUGS 

distilled off. Some of the acetone and perhaps part 
of the other pungent principles are removed, leav- 
ing a yellowish, highly flavored, and odorous liquid 
with 80 per cent, or more of methyl alcohol ; and this 
is what is known as wood alcohol. The constituent 
present in largest amount is methyl alcohol; but 
whether or not the intensely toxic character of the 
product can be ascribed to this principle alone has 
never been definitely determined. 

Pure methyl alcohol has been an article of commerce 
for more than a quarter of a century. Its use in 
medicines, except in a few preparations for external 
purposes, has been limited, and it is seldom if ever em- 
ployed at the present time. It is not strictly fair to 
call this substance "wood alcohol," because the name 
really designates the complex impure mixture de- 
scribed above. Methyl alcohol is relatively odorless 
and tasteless, and when highly purified can be dis- 
tinguished from ethyl alcohol only by laboratory test. 
It has an important place in chemical manufactur- 
ing, as it furnishes the methyl group for developing 
synthetic bodies, just as ethyl alcohol supplies the 
ethyl group where it is needed. Artificial oil of 
wintergreen, which has almost entirely supplanted 
the natural oil, is methyl salicylate, obtained by the 
inter-reaction of methyl alcohol and salicylic acid. 
But for solvent purposes it possesses no merit beyond 
that of the comparatively innocuous ethyl alcohol, 
and, in view of the doubts with which its character 
is surrounded, there is no good reason for employ- 
ing it when ethyl alcohol is so readily available. 

The increasing use of tax-free denatured alcohol 



THE ROLE OF ALCOHOL 89 

will be the logical extension of the alcohol industry in 
the future. If the spirit of the Eighteenth Amend- 
ment is to obtain indefinitely, it will be necessary for 
our manufacturing interests to secure their supplies 
of alcohol without being subjected to the shackles that 
envelop the dealing in alcoholic beverages. As long 
as pure alcohol for industrial purposes has to pay 
the same high excise duties as do alcoholic liquids of 
the beverage class, the same elaborate system of con- 
trol that applies to the latter will affect the former. 
The handling of specially denatured alcohol, while 
subject to restrictive measures, is not manacled by 
the oppressive restrictions that apply to the tax- 
paid article. 

Denatured alcohol is now extensively employed in 
the medicine industry. -Special formula Number 1, 
which consists of 10 parts of pure methyl alcohol 
and 100 parts of ethyl alcohol, is permitted for mak- 
ing solid extracts of vegetable drugs and substances 
such as podophyllin, scammony, and jalap resins. No 
alcohol remains in these products when the manufac- 
turing process is over. 

Tax-free alcohol, denatured with acetone and petro- 
leum naphtha, may be used in the preparation of san- 
tonin, strychnin, and monobromated camphor. Here, 
again, neither the alcohol nor the denaturants remain 
when the chemicals themselves are finally ready for 
the market. 

As examples of certain formulas of denatured alcohol 
that are allowed for making preparations where 
neither the alcohol nor the denaturants are subse- 
quently removed, we may cite Number 23, containing 



90 THE STORY OF DRUGS 

acetone and benzol, for external liniments; Number 
27, with camphor and oil of rosemary, for the same 
type of remedies ; Number 37, made up with eucalyptol, 
thymol, and menthol, for external antiseptic liquids, 
mouth washes, and gargles; and Number 39, with 
quassia, sodium salicylate, and acetone, for hair tonics 
and similar tonsorial mixtures used by the trade in 
barbers' supplies. In all of these formulas the in- 
gredients used are relatively innocuous, at least no 
more so than the alcohol' itself, but are so distaste- 
ful that the alcohol could not be diluted to potable 
strength and used for beverage purposes. 3 

The liberal policy adopted by the officials charged 
with the administration of Title Two of the Volstead 
Act, relating to tax-free alcohol, should be fully ap- 
preciated by the manufacturing interests of the coun- 
try, and receive the sympathy and support of the 
general public. The non-scientist should banish from 
his thoughts the horror arising when the words " de- 
natured alcohol" are mentioned. He should under- 
stand that there is a difference between alcohol that 
is completely denatured for general use and that which 

3 Very recently a variety of alcohol known as isopropyl alcohol has 
become an article of commerce, and is functioning to a limited ex- 
tent in certain formulas of specially denatured alcohol. Knowledge 
that this is being done has occasioned the circulation of sensational 
reports that fatalities due to the imbibing of denatured alcohol are 
caused by the isopropyl alcohol. It can be stated, however, that there 
is no evidence that isopropyl alcohol has any greater toxicity than 
ethyl alcohol. Physiological experiments carried out during the past 
year (1921) on the substance have shown it to possess intoxicating 
properties equalling, if not surpassing those of ethyl alcohol, but it 
appears to produce permanent manifestations, neither greater in kind 
nor degree than are produced under the same conditions by pure grain 
spirit. 



THE ROLE OF ALCOHOL 91 

is specially denatured for the industries. As time 
goes on, most of our familiar household necessities, 
hair tonics, shampoos-, mouth washes, dentifrices, lini- 
ments, and probably our favorite medicines, will be 
made with specially denatured alcohol. The ingredi- 
ents now used for denaturants are in general those 
substances that are known to be essential components 
of the finished preparations. Thus they serve the 
purpose of rendering the indispensable solvent unfit fro 
drink, they satisfy the legal aspects of the tax-free 
features of the situation, and they add nothing that 
will detract from the value of the article. 

While discussing the subject of alcohol, it is in order 
to devote a few words to fusel oil, both becau'se of the 
popular interest in the substance and its economic 
status. Nearly every one looks at it askance, as he 
views wood alcohol. It is the ogre of the whisky- 
drinkers, especially in these days when there is so 
much doubt about the nativity and custodianship of 
our potable spirits. 

In referring to the methods by which pure alcohol 
is obtained, it was noted that fusel oil is formed 
during the fermentation of the saccharine mixtures at 
the same time that the alcohol springs into being. It 
comes over with the alcohol in the process of dis- 
tillation, to be removed subsequently in the purifica- 
tion-chambers. It consists chiefly of alcohols of higher 
molecule weight than ethyl alcohol, amyl alcohol pre- 
dominating. It is the basic substance used in pre- 
paring some of the delightful artificial flavors and per- 
fumes. These compounds are called esters. They 
are prepared by combining the amyl alcohol with an 



92 THE STORY OF DEUGS 

acid in the presence of strong sulphuric acid. The 
esters vaporize with great ease and are distilled off 
and purified. Amyl nitrite, another of these esters, 
is a limpid yellow liquid that has a marked stimulat- 
ing action on the heart when inhaled. It is used to 
relieve faintness, sudden attacks of vertigo, and sun- 
stroke, being featured in little glass pearls, which can 
be crushed in the handkerchief and applied to the 
nostrils at the onset of the attack. 

The significance of fusel oil as a component of 
whisky is understood by scarcely one person in a thou- 
sand. It seems to be the prevailing opinion that, in 
order to be safe to drink, whisky should contain none 
of it. Yet in truth a specimen of delicious whisky, 
aged six or seven years in the wood, contains much 
more fusel oil than one that is freshly distilled. The 
whole question of what happens to pure whisky from 
the time it is distilled until it has aged for eight years 
was ably demonstrated in an elaborate investigation 
undertaken by Dr. Charles A. Crampton when he was 
in charge of the chemical laboratory of the Bureau 
of Internal Revenue. The importance of the discover- 
ies made in the course of this research merit careful 
consideration. 4 It was shown conclusively that when 
pure rye or Bourbon is stored in the customary 
charred barrels the fusel oil content gradually in- 
creases from year to year. There is actually no more 
fusel oil generated during the aging period, but some 
of the water and alcohol making up the bulk of the 
whisky gradually evaporates through the pores of the 
wood, reducing the volume in the barrel, while the 

* Journal of the American Chemical Society, 1908, vol. 30, p. 98. 



THE EOLE OF ALCOHOL 93 

fusel oil does not disappear in like manner. Hence it 
increases relatively to the decrease in volume of the 
bulk of the contents. 

Freshly distilled whisky is disagreeable to the palate 
and produces unpleasant conditions in the stomach, 
not because of the fusel oil, but doubtless on account 
of some of the volatile constituents, one of these being 
an aldehyde called furfurol, which in time react with 
acids extracted from the charred barrel to form an acid 
ester equilibrium characterizing the mellowness of 
good whisky. The improvement in flavor is also due 
to concentration, and the oily appearance of a matured 
whisky is due to materials extracted from the charred 
package. This feature is almost lacking in whiskies 
aged in uncharred wood. 

Fermentation and distillation are two arts that have 
been practised since remote antiquity. The former, 
of course, preceded the latter. H. G. Wells 5 con- 
cludes that Neolithic man in Europe ten thousand 
years ago possessed no yeast, since the remains of the 
ancient lake-dwellers in Switzerland show that the 
bread was exceedingly solid and heavy, and made in 
the form of round flat slabs. He concludes that if they 
had no yeast they had no fermented drink. It is 
more probable, however, that a knowledge of fermented 
drinks preceded the application of yeast to the leaven- 
ing of bread, though it is also equally probable that for 
a long period the reason why milk and fruit juices 
changed on standing into highly delectable beverages 
was not appreciated. If knowledge of the subject 
was possessed by the civilization of the far East at 

s "Outline of History," Vol. I, p. 1-13. 



94 THE STORY OF DRUGS 

that period, there are at present no records available ; 
but drawings of ancient forms of stills dating back 
to over 2000 b. c. show that distillation was an accom- 
plishment of the populations of India, China, and 
Egypt. Hence it is reasonable to conclude that some 
time in the dim past, perhaps five thousand or more 
years ago, it was discovered that when milk or juices 
of fruits and berries were set aside for a few days, 
they mysteriously acquired amazing properties of an 
exhilarating and highly stimulating nature. Possibly 
kumiss, a fermented product made from mare's milk, 
and kefir, a beverage of the same nature derived from 
cow's milk, the former associated with the peoples of 
the steppes of southwestern Siberia, and the latter 
with the mountaineers of the Caucasus, may trace their 
histories back to Neolithic days. The application of 
yeast for bread-making was known to the ancient 
Egyptians. It is not unlikely that the early brews 
and vintages were accompanied by a great many fail- 
ures due to the fact that other organisms besides yeast 
will set up an active fermentation in the same environ- 
ment, and in modern practice one of the chief concerns 
of the brewer is the prevention of the access of these 
other active agents to the material that is being fer- 
mented. In those days the nature of fermentation 
could have been but imperfectly appreciated. 

There are many varieties of yeast that do not pro- 
duce a simple alcoholic fermentation, and their spores 
are constantly borne about by the air currents, ready 
to drop into mediums favorable to their development. 
If they find a resting-place in an unprotected mixture 
undergoing alcoholic fermentation, they may change 



THE EOLE OF ALCOHOL 95 

the course of the process, yielding perhaps a product 
of an entirely different character from that which is 
contemplated. Up to the time when it became the 
custom to bring about the fermentation of grape juice 
with pure cultures of wine yeast, after destroying the 
other organisms normally present in the must, the 
pressings from the grapes were allowed to fer- 
ment through the influence of the alcohol-producing 
yeast normally present in the skins. If conditions 
were right, the proper kind of fermentation ran its 
customary course and a good wine resulted. Grape- 
skins are an abiding-place for all kinds of bac- 
teria, including Mycoderma aaeti, the vinegar-pro- 
ducing organism. They find their way into the juice 
along with the yeast-cells, and, as all of them are in 
a medium favorable to their growth, a battle royal 
results, each endeavoring to sustain itself and pro- 
duce its by-products at the expense of the others. If 
the yeast triumphs, the influence of the others is not 
felt and good wine results. 

Pasteur solved the mysteries of fermentation. His 
researches, with those of Hansen, — who, delving into 
the biology of the different species of yeast, evolved 
a method for obtaining pure cultures of these organ- 
isms, — have been responsible for placing the industry 
on its present basis. 

Yeasts are fungi of the family known as Sacchar- 
omycetes. The species producing beer fermentation, 
and therefore alcohol from wort from starchy grains, 
is the Saccharomyces cerevisice. 

Wine fermentation is brought about by Saccharomy- 
ces ellipsoides. In the modern brewery, winery, and 



96 THE STORY OF DRUGS 

alcohol plant the seed-yeast for producing fermen- 
tation is carefully handled and protected from con- 
tamination by deleterious foreign organisms. An in- 
fection with Mycoderma might, as fast as it is pro- 
duced, change the alcohol to acetic acid, resulting in 
a vat full of vinegar instead of beer or wine. Wild 
yeast might act in such a way as to produce substances 
of peculiar flavor and odor, highly objectionable in 
character. 

In the course of the fermentation the yeast in the 
wort or must 6 produces more of its kind, and at the 
conclusion of the process it is of no further use. In 
plants where distilled liquors and pure alcohol are 
being produced, the yeast from the wort is recovered 
and diverted to the baking industry. Compressed 
yeast is a product of the distilleries where malt and 
raw grain are fermented. Little, if any, commercial 
compressed yeast is made from beer-wort yeast. The 
raw yeast coming from the wort is mixed with starch, 
and pressed in bags in hydraulic presses, after which 
it is cut into cakes, wrapped in tinfoil, and kept in 
cold-storage until ready for use. 

Within the last ten years the application of yeast 
to vitamine therapy has assumed great importance. 
In a subsequent chapter we shall learn that yeast is 
the cheapest and most available source of those pecul- 
iar principles known as vitamines, and may even- 
tually be relied upon to furnish the ammunition for 

fi The term wort refers to the infusion of malt or grain which, after 
fermentation, becomes beer, Must is the unfermented juice as it is 
pressed from the grape. 



THE ROLE OF ALCOHOL 97 

combating the dreaded diseases pellagra, beri-beri, 
and scurvy. 

The foregoing discussion emphasizes the vital im- 
portance of the alcohol industry. Were it to be sud- 
denly annihilated, the making of medicines and many 
of the indispensable chemical drugs would come to a 
standstill, and in a short time the mortality of the 
population, through inability to obtain medicines, 
would asssume such proportions that the ravages of 
the Great Plague of 1665 and the influenza epidemic 
of 1918 would appear mild in contrast. The baking of 
wholesome bread is dependent on the ability to pro- 
duce alcohol cheaply and abundantly. Yeast is the 
by-product, and we need enormous quantities; other- 
wise bread, the staff of life, will be lacking in one of 
its most important life-sustaining qualities. Soda and 
baking powders cannot replace yeast as leavening 
agents. They may act as occasional substitutes, but 
they kill the vitamine, and it is not unlikely that one 
of the contributing causes to the spread of pellagra in 
the South is the excessive use of soda-raised bread. 

The production of alcohol should be encouraged. 
Its availability for the legitimate arts and industries 
should be facilitated by every possible means. Be- 
cause of its indispensability as a basic material in 
the manufacture of medicines, it should be relieved 
of the encumbrances and restrictions now attending 
its use. Alcoholic beverages have been outlawed, but 
a spirit of tolerance should be exhibited toward alco- 
hol itself, and its significance as a vital factor in our 
life and industry comprehended by everyone. 



CHAPTER V 

FAKMING FOE MEDICINE 

The native American, in whatever walk of life, has 
always possessed a liking for tilling the soil and see- 
ing something grow. Onr city dwellers, with back 
yards of a few feet in area, seldom fail to devote a 
space to raising something, even though the crop con- 
sists only of half a dozen tomato plants or a bed of 
petunias. In the suburbs the operations assume 
larger proportions, and the modest citizen has his 
ornamental shrubbery and kitchen-garden in which 
he delights to spend his leisure hours. On the coun- 
try estates of the more affluent population the space 
devoted to agriculture may be quite extensive, and, 
though the owners themselves may not handle the 
actual field operations, they possess an active interest 
in everything that is going on, and take great de- 
light in showing their visitors the triumphs of their 
professional gardeners. 

It is not surprising that references to the pro- 
duction of unusual crops, which began to be featured 
in the popular literature fifteen or more years ago, 
and which have continued up to the present, appealed 
to the non-scientific mind. The subject was a roman- 
tic one. The growing scarcity of many plants on 
which we depended for our medicines was noted, and 



FARMING FOR MEDICINE 99 

soon the interest became universal. Alluring accounts 
were written of the ease with which this and that 
plant could be grown in back yards and vacant lots, 
and lists were published containing the names of a vast 
number of drugs, those for which there is but little de- 
mand being featured equally prominently with the 
relatively small number that are universal staples. 
The agitation, however, had its good effects, as we 
shall see. 

You will remember that in the first chapter, under 
the classification of drugs, reference was made to 
those derived from the vegetable kingdom, and atten- 
tion was called to the fact that, while there were many 
hundreds of these botanicals, only a few might be 
considered as staples and enjoyed a wide and steady 
market. These include aconite, belladonna, opium, 
digitalis, cannabis indica, ipecac, nux vomica, aloes, 
cinchona bark, rhubarb, senna, gentian, golden-seal, 
senega, mandrake, bloodroot, arnica, henbane, stramo- 
nium, coca-leaves, colchicum, ergot, sarsaparilla, col- 
ocynth, cascara, jalap, wild-cherry bark, ginger, lico- 
rice, dandelion, and burdock. 

When we survey the list of botanical drugs that are 
in great demand by the druggist and manufacturer of 
medicines, we find that, while some of them might be 
cultivated in a country possessing the climate of our 
United States, nux vomica and cinchona, two of the 
most important drugs known to medicine, and respec- 
tively the sources of strychnin and quinin, are tropical 
plants, the former coming from India and the latter 
from South America and Java. Aloes, sarsaparilla, 
jalap, and ipecac also are natives of hot climates. 



100 THE STORY OF DRUGS 

Now, as a matter of fact, many drugs grow naturally 
in our country, and we have always been able to supply 
our own wants of golden-seal, senega, mandrake, blood- 
root, cascara, wild-cherry bark, and many others of 
lesser importance, and also to export them, and, with 
the exception of golden-seal, the drugs have been 
gathered from plants growing in the wild state. Most 
of the so-called pot herbs, caraway, dill, horehound, 
thyme, tansy, camomile, and calendula (pot marigold), 
have been grown locally in this country, and gathered 
usually by the individual consumers ; but the bulk sup- 
plies used by the drug dealers have been imported from 
Europe. The same may be said of dandelion and bur- 
dock roots, for, while the plants themselves are trouble- 
some weeds, the supplies for medicine-makers have 
always been gathered abroad. In foreign lands 
medicinal farming has been in progress for many 
years. Cinchona plantations are established in Java, 
and practically all of the bark that finds its way into 
the avenues of commerce comes from this source. Coca 
is cultivated in South America; belladonna and digi- 
talis are grown in England and on the Continent; and 
Belgium has long been noted for its valerian. 1 

Medicine farms in the United States have been in 
operation for a long time. Years ago the Shakers cul- 
tivated and sold large quantities of the common pot 
herbs mentioned above, and a dealer in crude drugs 
in Maiden, Massachusetts, whose goods enjoyed a rep- 

i Asoka, an Emperor of India who reigned from b. c. 264 to 228, 
and who is one of the most remarkable characters in the world's his- 
tory, was a patron of drug cultivation. Among his edicts have been 
found those providing for the planting of medicinal herbs and shade- 
trees. 




Harris & Ewing, Washington, D. C. Edmonston, Washington, D. C. 

RODXET H. TRUE W. W. STOCKBERGER 

Father of Systematic Drug Growing in the 
Country 




EXPERIMENTAL GARDEN ON A MODERN DRUG FARM 




LARGE-SCALE PEPPERMINT CULTIVATION 




PEPPERMINT OIL DISTILLERY 



FAEMING FOR MEDICINE 101 

utation throughout New England, conducted an exten- 
sive enterprise. His farms are still producing factors 
in the trade. A few manufacturers of proprietary 
remedies have grown their own drugs, notably one in 
Springfield, Massachusetts, who used large quantities 
of wormwood and calendula in the preparation of a 
popular embrocation, and another in Minnesota who 
produced the stramonium, or jimson-weed, that wa.s 
an essential constituent of his asthma cure. At a 
somewhat later date two of our largest producers of 
medicine for the druggist and doctor embarked in the 
growing of some of their own crude drugs, such as 
belladonna, digitalis, and cannabis; and one of them, 
located in Philadelphia, still maintains an extensive 
growing acreage, while one of the largest firms manu- 
facturing surgical supplies began to grow belladonna 
for use in making belladonna plasters as far back as 
1904. 

Ginseng has been cultivated on small plantations in 
New York, Michigan, Ohio, and Indiana in increasing 
quantities since the early eighties, due to gradual ex- 
termination of the wild plants, which were collected by 
woodsmen and trappers to supply the export trade 
with China. The growers of ginseng have extended 
their operations to the production of golden-seal, 
the Hydrastis canadensis of the botanist, and now the 
bulk of the supplies of both of these drugs are culti- 
vated. 

This is an outline of the drug-growing activities in 
the United States down to about 1900. After this a 
systematic survey of our native drug resources was 
undertaken by the Department of Agriculture. The 



102 THE STORY OF DRUGS 

object was twofold, — the development of the cultiva- 
tion of some of our native drugs that were fast disap- 
pearing in the wild state, and the introduction of 
foreign species for which there was a universal need 
and which gave promise of being successfully grown 
under climatic conditions obtaining in the Northern 
hemisphere. 

This work was placed in the hands of Dr. Rodney H. 
True, an able botanist, to whom, with his co-worker, 
Dr. W. W. Stockberger, tribute is due for their enthu- 
siasm and untiring labor in studying and directing the 
development of the problems incident to the new sub- 
ject. They and their field agents are the pioneers of 
systematic drug-farming. They gathered in and 
studied the information concerning the experiences of 
haphazard investigators, sifted out the chaff from the 
wheat (and the chaff predominated), dispelled the sen- 
timental ideas of those who were confidently antici- 
pating the making of fortunes in back-yard gardens, 
and disseminated through publications and personal 
correspondence reliable data on what actually could be 
done and how it might be accomplished. 

The department established experimental farms in 
different parts of the country in order to work out the 
cultural conditions necessary for those of our native 
plants that were approaching extinction in the wild 
state, and for foreign drugs that might survive in our 
climate and for which market conditions indicated 
commercial possibilities. Experiments were carried 
out in growing our native drugs, such as go»lden-seal, 
ginseng, senega, pink-root, and cascara sagrada, and 
with such foreign varieties as belladonna, henbane, 



FARMING FOR MEDICINE 103 

digitalis, cannabis indica, aconite, gentian, capsicum, 
camphor-laurel, etc. 

The investigations led to the establishment in 
Florida of an industry for producing camphor, and in 
the Carolinas for the propagation of the capsicum pep- 
per. Attempts were also made, and with partial 
success, in South Carolina, for growing tea, both for 
beverage purposes and for the production of its active 
alkaloid, cafTein, an important and valuable medicinal 
agent and ingredient of beverages. Cannabis indica 
was found to take kindly to the soils and temperature 
of the Middle Eastern and upper Southern States, and 
farms for its production were established in Pennsyl- 
vania, Virginia, and South Carolina. 

The outbreak of the war started a craze for drug- 
growing that was widespread, and at the time of the 
armistice there were several concerns and individuals, 
representing an investment of perhaps a million dol- 
lars, engaged in producing belladonna, digitalis, canna- 
bis, valerian, sage, henbane, and stramonium in com- 
mercial quantities, and of a grade far superior to 
anything that had formerly been imported. With the 
exception of valerian, the output was sufficient to take 
care of this country's annual requirements; and in 
1918 there was an over-production of belladonna, so 
much so that the crop had not been entirely absorbed 
before the armistice came, and the subsequent unrest 
in the commercial world, together with the imminence 
of renewed imports from Europe, resulted in almost 
complete destruction of the business for American 
growers. 

The fate of the belladonna farmer emphasizes a con- 



104 THE STORY OF DKUGS 

dition that confronts the grower of drugs of any 
variety. The demand of the medicine manufacturer 
for his staple drugs, though apparently large, is noth- 
ing like the demand of the public for such food 
commodities as wheat, corn, and potatoes, and, while 
thousands of acres are required to furnish supplies 
of the latter, sufficient belladonna for our entire con- 
sumption can be produced on perhaps two hundred 
and fifty acres at most. Areas of considerably less 
extent would take care of our needs of cannabis indica 
and digitalis, even though both of these commodities 
are indispensable and in regular use by the practi- 
tioner of medicine. 

The danger of over-production is one of the im- 
portant economic factors that will militate against the 
maintenance of a healthy and successful drug-raising 
industry in the United States unless it is carefully 
conducted, as the following illustration will show. For 
a considerable period there has been coming out of 
Carroll County, Maryland, an essential oil, called oil 
of American wormseed, which is obtained by passing 
steam through the tops of a coarse weed commonly 
known as Jerusalem oak, condensing the liquid and 
separating the oil, which floats on the top of the water. 
The oil is employed as one of the ingredients of some 
of the favorite children's remedies. The plant grows 
wild, in waste places, throughout the eastern and 
southern parts of the United States. It is a trouble- 
some weed in cultivated lands, resembling in appear- 
ance, to some degree, the common ragweed. It is 
cultivated for oil purposes, and, as the industry is 
closely controlled, the business is profitable, but any 



FARMING FOR MEDICINE 105 

increase in production would result in an over-stocked 
market. 

Passing on to a few general remarks concerning the 
cultivation of drugs, it should be emphasized that the 
problems incident to this work are not less difficult 
than those encountered in the production of other 
crops. Their growing requires the same outlay for 
equipment and labor, and additional investment for 
drying-sheds and laboratory control. There is no ro- 
mance about the proposition. The growing plants 
require just as much care and attention as the or- 
dinary truck crops, and often more. A field of bella- 
donna or sage cannot be planted and then left to take 
care of itself, any more than can a field of potatoes or 
cabbage. It is a mistaken notion that all one has to 
do to raise drugs is to plant the seed in the spring, and 
come back in the fall and gather in the crop of leaves 
and roots. 

In general, the field equipment and the labor force 
of a drug farm are the same as that required for any 
kind of agricultural enterprise, and the operations of 
plowing, cultivating, and hoeing are the same. But 
the similarity ends there, because a knowledge of the 
peculiarities of the individual species under cultiva- 
tion, the character of the soil to which it is adapted, 
and the cultural conditions necessary to its progress 
a»e essential before one can feel any assurance of a 
successful outcome. It is not an undertaking that can 
be embarked upon by the average farmer, who is 
familiar only with the cultural and marketing condi- 
tions obtaining with field crops. Nor, except as a pas- 
time, does it ho'ld out any inducement to the small 



106 THE STORY OF DRUGS 

grower with a back-yard garden or a vacant city lot. 
The conclusions derived from the experiences of those 
who have been in close touch with the problem, and 
from the reports of actual operations, are ably sum- 
marized by Dr. Stockberger in a recent bulletin issued 
by the Department of Agriculture, in which he states 
that "the production of drugs of high quality requires 
skilled management, experience in special methods of 
plant culture, acquaintance with trade requirements, 
and a knowledge of the influence of time of collection 
and manner of preparation of the constituents of the 
drug that determine its value. Small quantities of 
drugs produced without regard to these conditions are 
apt to be poor in quality and so unattractive to dealers 
and manufacturers that the products will not be salable 
at a price sufficient to make their production profitable. 
In general, the conditions in this country seem far 
more favorable to the growing of drug plants as a 
special industry for well equipped cultivators than as 
a side crop for general farmers, or those whose chief 
interest lies in the production of other crops/ ' 

The conclusions reached by the economists and ex- 
perimenters in this country have been echoed by those 
in Great Britain, for in 1917 the Pharmaceutical Jour- 
nal and Pharmacist, a London publication, contained 
a report from the National Herb Federation which 
says in part : "We deprecate equally strongly the prop- 
aganda which advocates the indiscriminate and un- 
limited establishment of herb-gardening associations, 
with their chain of drying-sheds throughout the 
country, and the collection and cultivation of small 
quantities of herbs, which must necessarily be of vary- 



FARMING FOR MEDICINE 107 

ing qualities. . . . The economics of the problem 
demand concentration, not diffusion. The solution is 
not to be found in the gardens of the cottage, however 
much we wish it were so, but in cultivated acres strictly 
limited in number, and in drying-sheds, etc., thor- 
oughly equipped and conducted on strict business 
lines.' ' 

In the first place, the number of firms and individ- 
uals that work drugs into medicines is comparatively 
small. The local druggist buys limited quantities of 
drugs, and his supplies are always obtained from the 
wholesale dealer, who in turn buys directly from the 
manufacturer, the importer, or the crude-drug dealer. 
The cultivator of drugs must find his market with the 
crude-drug dealer or the manufacturer; and, as these 
factors have been in the business for many years and 
are familiar with all conditions of supply and demand, 
the cultivator is practically at their mercy, bofch as to 
absorbing the crop produced and as to the price ob- 
tained. So, before one can attempt to cultivate drugs, 
it is essential to determine the species for which there 
is always a healthy demand and which can be sold at a 
price that will pay for the cultural operations. For 
instance, it would be ridiculous to embark in the culti- 
vation of mandrake, which, though in great demand, 
grows profusely in the wild state and sells at a price 
below what it would cost to produce it under cultiva- 
tion. 

Reliable seeds for starting a crop of drug plants are 
difficult to obtain. Those supplied by the seed houses 
and listed under " herbs' ' are seldom selected with 
care, and often as many as 90 per cent, will fail to 



108 THE STORY OF DRUGS 

germinate. Resort must be had to foreign sources, ex- 
perimental gardens, and wild plants, and it may be 
several years before one can safely sacrifice the plants 
to other than seed purposes. 

The cultivation of each species requires special 
study. The natural habitat of the plant has to be in- 
vestigated, and artificial conditions made to duplicate 
those of the locality where the wild plant thrives best. 
Golden-seal and ginseng must be grown under shade, 
and in a soil rich with leaf -mold; pink-root requires 
partial shade and moist, rich earth ; belladonna thrives 
best in a rich soil with sand enough for healthy drain- 
age: in fact, the conditions that are suitable for one 
drug plant will seldom answer for another. 

Very few crops can be sown directly in the field, and 
some of the more valuable require preliminary propa- 
gation in a greenhouse. Others require germination 
and cultivation for one or two years in specially con- 
structed seed-beds, sometimes with artificial slat shade 
to prevent damage by direct sunlight during the hot 
summer months. Transplanting by hand is an ardu- 
ous task. A crop worth while can scarcely be trans- 
planted to the field without prohibitive labor cost, and 
resort must be had to expensive machinery specially 
constructed for this purpose. 

The care of the growing plants requires careful 
study, each species presenting conditions peculiar to 
itself. Insect pests and diseases, which in the case of 
staple vegetable crops have been studied and means 
for their control established, run riot in the drug gar- 
den. The cooperation of the entomologist and plant 
pathologist are essential, and without the aid of these 




CULTIVATING GINSENG UNDER SHADE 




FIELD OP FIRST- YEAR DIGITALIS PLANTS 




A FIELD OF BELLADONNA UNDER CULTIVATION 




CURING BELLADONNA 



FARMING FOR MEDICINE 109 

experts the work of the farmer is foredoomed to 
failure. 

In harvesting and curing the ripened crop, the pecu- 
liar demands of the consumer must be understood, 
otherwise the harvest will be valueless. The leaves, 
roots, herbs, and barks can be successfully prepared 
for market only in specially constructed drying-houses, 
maintained at a temperature that will not injure the 
appearance of the plant nor destroy the delicate active 
principles. 

Perhaps the most important feature in the whole 
series of operations is the control laboratory, where 
the drugs are tested to determine their potency and 
availability for the preparation of medicines ; for it is 
on these features alone that the consumer judges the 
drug and makes his purchases. Golden-seal and bella- 
donna are bought and sold and made into medicines 
wholly on the basis of their alkaloidal content, which 
can be determined only in the chemical laboratory. 
Cannabis and digitalis must conform to definite stand- 
ards based on physiological activity. To attempt to 
dispose of a crop of belladonna or digitalis without 
knowing its strength would be the height of folly. 

Attention should also be called to the shrinkage in 
weight due to curing, which was the cause of disap- 
pointment to the unintelligent grower during the war 
period. We read in the popular articles of the enor- 
mous yields that might be expected per acre, but these 
figures sometimes referred to the leaves and roots as 
gathered, and when it was found that a ton of leaf 
shrank to some three hundred pounds of marketable 
drug, it can readily be seen how many dreams of gold- 



- 



110 THE STORY OF DRUGS 

mines from quarter acre plots went glimmering. Cer- 
tain drugs probably never could be produced in the 
United States, owing to the character of the operations 
required to prepare them for the market and the labor 
costs incident thereto. For instance, saffron, which 
was formerly widely used in medicine, and which still 
enjoys a moderate demand both as a drug and a condi- 
ment, consists of the orange-colored stigmas of the 
flowers of a low-growing, fall-blooming, bulbous plant 
of the iris family, cultivated commercially in southern 
Europe. The stigmas are removed from the flowers 
either by pulling or by cutting them off with the finger- 
nail, after which the flowers are thrown away. About 
fifty thousand flowers are required to produce one 
pound of dry saffron ; hence the amount of hand labor 
involved in removing enough stigmas is large, and, 
while it may be done at a profit with the aid of the 
cheap child and woman labor of southern Europe, it 
would be out of the question in this country under al- 
most any wage condition that would be acceptable to 
the farm-hand. 

The limits imposed on a work of this kind necessarily 
preclude a detailed account of the methods employed 
in the cultivation of the various drugs, but this chap- 
ter would be incomplete without a short account of the 
operations incident to the growing of a few of the im- 
portant species. 

Reference has already been made to the establish- 
ment of the camphor industry in Florida. The tree 
yielding this universal remedy is a large evergreen na- 
tive to Asia, and is easily grown from seed that is 
planted in large beds by means of a planting device 



FARMING FOR MEDICINE 111 

similar to that used for setting out cotton. The young 
shoots begin to appear in about three months, and after 
the plant can be distinguished from the naturally oc- 
curring weeds and grass, the bed is cleaned out with 
hoes and cultivators. After remaining for a year in 
the seed-bed, which may be an acre or so in extent, 
the young trees are transplanted to their permanent 
location. For the next two or three years the soil is 
kept in condition by cultivation and hoeing, and if 
conditions are right the trees should be from seven to 
eight feet high. Then the ends of the branches are 
clipped just as a hedge is trimmed, a special machine 
being employed for the purpose. The trimming is 
done when the trees are in the dormant stage, which 
is twice each year, usually from November to January 
and from May to June. 

The cuttings are hauled away to a distilling plant, 
where they are packed in large iron drum-shaped re- 
torts connected with spirally curved pipes surrounded 
by cold water, which condenses the steam driven by 
pressure through the mass of twigs. The mixture of 
water and camphor oil running out of the tap at the 
end of the spiral pipe is separated. Much crude cam- 
phor in crystalline form separates out of the oil, and 
the latter is drained off or separated by a centrifugal 
machine which throws off the excess of oil and water 
and leaves behind a mass of camphor crystals. 

Camphor imports into the United States usually ex- 
ceed three million pounds annually, so that the pros- 
pect of an over-production would not appear 
imminent. However, sad to relate, the Florida 
camphor industry is now virtually at a standstill, and 



112 THE STORY OF DRUGS 

one of the largest operators has dismantled his plant 
and abandoned his plantation. The influx of camphor 
artificially made from turpentine was one of the 
causes ; and the general slump in the industrial world 
and the difficulty of competing with the cheaper labor 
of Japan have added to the difficulties of the situation. 
The industry devoted to the production of the oils 
of peppermint and spearmint is similar to that of 
camphor in so far as the distilling operations are con- 
cerned; but, while the camphor-laurel does not fare 
well in a climate that shows a temperature lower than 
fifteen degrees above zero in winter, the mints do not 
thrive in the hot climate of the South, preferring the 
cooler regions, and also the dark humous muck soils of 
the North ; hence the growing of the plants and distill- 
ing of the oil have centered in Michigan, New York, 
and Indiana. The mint farms of New York State were 
at one time extensive and profitable, but this industry 
shifted to Michigan, where at the present writing a 
firm, with headquarters at Kalamazoo, virtually domi- 
nates the growing of peppermint and spearmint, and to 
a large extent the distillation and refining of their oils. 
The drug trade consumes a certain quantity of the 
dried herbs annually, but by far the major portion 
grown is used in the production of oil. 

The farms occupy hundreds of acres, and their op- 
erations are conducted with all the labor-saving de- 
vices and attention to scientific cultural operations 
that the modern farmer can acquire. The firm also 
acts as a clearing-house, so to speak, for the small 
growers scattered throughout that section, receiving 
their crude oils, refining them by modern methods, 



FARMING FOR MEDICINE 113' 

and thereby saving them the heavy overhead expenses 
that in the case of a small enterprise would render 
the operations unprofitable. 

Most of the peppermint oil goes to the flavoring 
manufacturers, and the spearmint is chiefly taken by 
the proprietor of a popular brand of chewing gum. 
The annual production of the former is close to three 
hundred thousand pounds, and of the latter about 
fifty thousand pounds. 

A field of either of the mints is propagated from 
runners or sections of roots. The plants grow rapidly, 
and the field is kept free from weeds, since their pres- 
ence in the harvested crop would seriously injure the 
quality of the oil. The herb is cut in July or August, 
at which time a mint farm takes on the appearance of 
an enormous hay-field, with the mowing-machines, 
rakes, and tedders busy getting the crop in shape for 
the stills. When the herb is fairly well dried, it is 
placed in large stills of similar construction to those 
used in distilling camphor oil. These stills are often 
made of wood and may be very crude, but the modern 
stills are of the latest approved mechanical design 
and may have a capacity of three tons of dried herb. 

The firm that worked out the scientific production 
of mint in Michigan is the only one in this country that 
has been able to grow henbane successfully in com- 
mercial quantities. This drug is in steady demand, 
though its annual consumption is not .so great as is that 
of belladonna ; but, since it was a product of the Cen- 
tral Empires and Russia, the importations were shut off 
soon after the beginning of hostilities in 1914. Hen- 
bane grows wild in Montana and the Northwest, but 



114 THE STORY OF DRUGS 

the quality of' the leaf is poor, and attempts were made 
to reduce it to cultivation. The plant belongs to the 
same family as the potato, and those who attempted 
to grow it soon found that all the potato-beetles in 
their vicinity left their former happy hunting-grounds 
and swarmed into the henbane field, where they 
wrought havoc in the growing crop. Spraying with 
arsenicals served to keep the pests in check, but, after 
a shower had washed off the insecticide, fresh relays 
returned and took their toll before another application 
from the spraying-machine could be made. The dif- 
ficulty was surmounted by hand-picking the bugs, and 
this practice was kept up daily until the generation 
in existence at the period had passed on. 

The growing of belladonna for commercial purposes 
began about 1904, when F. B. Kilmer of New Bruns- 
wick, New Jersey, set out about fifteen acres of the 
plants. The crop was all consumed by the well known 
firm of Johnson and Johnson, with which Mr. Kilmer 
was associated, for making belladonna plasters. These 
plantings have extended and are in operation to this 
day. The interest in the possibilities of this crop in- 
creased in the years preceding the war, and after the 
opening of hostilities, when the price of the drug 
began to soar, farms were established in Virginia, 
Pennsylvania, Indiana, Michigan, and California. As 
has already been noted, the wholesale production led 
to an over-supply, about eighty-three tons being pro- 
duced. The bottom dropped out of the market in 1918, 
and most of the growers have abandoned their efforts. 

Both the leaf and the root are used in making medi- 
cine, but the latter can be harvested with profit only 



FARMING FOR MEDICINE 115 

after several seasons of growth. The first plantings 
are made from seedlings, which have to be started in 
a greenhouse or hot-bed, because it has been found 
impossible to obtain a crop from seeds sown directly 
in the field. After a vigorous root system has been 
established, the young plants are set out in the field 
by means of a tobacco-planter, a machine operated 
by three men and a pair of horses. Cultivation and 
hoeing are essential to give the plants an opportunity 
to get ahead of the weeds, and when flowering time 
arrives, the tops and leaves are cut by hand and im- 
mediately transferred to a drying-shed and cured by 
artificial heat. If the season is propitious, three 
pickings can be made the first year, and then the roots 
are mulched over the winter, or dug and stored in a 
cold cellar or pit, the same as are potatoes. The fol- 
lowing spring the roots can be divided and set out, and 
the acreage gradually increased both by this means 
and by new seedlings. 

Belladonna has been grown by manufacturing medi- 
cine houses in Indianapolis and Philadelphia for use 
in making their standard pharmaceuticals. The qual- 
ity of the drug grown in the United States far sur- 
passes anything that ever came from Europe. The 
alkaloidal content, on which its medicinal value is 
based, has been brought up to seven tenths of one per 
cent., and even, in some cases, to one per cent., of atro- 
pin, while the imported article seldom goes higher than 
four tenths of one per cent. 

The strain producing the highest potency was de- 
veloped by Dr. Stockberger in the course of his ex- 
perimental work on the government farm at Arlington, 



116 THE STOEY OF DEUGS 

Virginia. This strain was adopted bj some of 
the successful growers during the war, and the excep- 
tional quality of the leaf received favorable comment 
from the crude-drug merchants and medicine-makers 
who were fortunate enough to obtain it for their 
trade. 

Digitalis, one of the most important drugs to the 
therapeutist, has been grown under carefully super- 
vised conditions in Virginia and Minnesota, and plant- 
ings are reported from Pennsylvania, South Carolina, 
California, and Washington. The Virginia leaf has 
attained the greatest reputation, owing to its superior 
and uniform potency, and its reliability when con- 
verted into standard medicinal tinctures. Digitalis 
preparations are used for diseases of the heart, and 
when the physician is called upon to use them there 
must be no doubt about their action, because the ques- 
tion of life and death may depend on the action of the 
four or ten minims administered. Dr. Hatcher, of 
the Staff at Bellevue Hospital, New York, developed 
a special tincture from the Virginia leaf which served 
him in good stead on many critical occasions. Since 
then the fame of the drug has spread all over the 
East, until several of the larger hospitals have speci- 
fied its use for their dispensaries. 

Digitalis is propagated from seedlings in much the 
same way as is belladonna, and its planting in the 
field and subsequent cultural care are identical. The 
plant is a biennial and ordinarily does not produce 
flowers the first year. It develops a remarkable leaf 
system, however, which is cut ofT as fast as the growth 
matures, and the harvesting is usually continuous until 
frost. The leaves of best appearance in the trade are 



FARMING FOR MEDICINE 117 

usually washed to remove the particles of soil that 
adhere to the tiny hairs, and then immediately dried 
by artificial heat to prevent fermentation, which sets 
up if the leaves remain in the moist state, and which 
causes destruction of the delicate active principles on 
which the medicinal value depends. 

Any one who was fortunate enough to have had a 
grandfather with a cottage in a country village will 
recall that there was always a place in the garden 
for a few sage-hushes. You found growing there 
sage and usually a few other so-called pot herbs, like 
horehound, catnip, dill, thyme, and tansy. Sage is 
usually listed among the drugs, but its greatest use is 
for condimental purposes, and most of it is consumed 
by the sausage-makers. Its growing in a small way 
has been conducted here for many years, and the qual- 
ity of its leaf far surpasses the Austrian and Greek 
sage in delicacy of flavor and aroma, but the imported 
article is really the chief factor in the trade, and is 
annually brought in to the amount of hundreds of 
thousands of pounds. American sage has been dis- 
criminated against by the government in its super- 
vision of the packing industry, because, for some rea- 
son or other peculiar to its metabolism, it absorbs 
more mineral matter from the soil and therefore shows 
a higher ash content than do the Austrian and Greek 
products on which the standards for ash determination 
have been drawn. And, even though the American 
product is far superior for the purposes for which it 
is used and may be preferred by individual packers, 
they are often obliged to refuse a beautiful lot of 
high-grade domestic leaf because there is more mineral 



118 THE STORY OF DRUGS 

matter in it than the arbitrary limits set by law, and 
which, as we have noted, were based on an alien 
product. 

However, in spite of the handicaps with which it is 
beset, sage of domestic growth finds its way into the 
trade. A field of sage in full bloom, with its deep 
purple blossoms, interspersed here and there with an 
occasional clump of daisies that have escaped the at- 
tention of the cultivator, is a sight not soon to be for- 
gotten. It grows easily from seed sown in open beds 
in early spring, and can be transplanted to the field 
when vigorous enough to maintain itself. The first 
year the growth is only moderate ; but it winters well, 
and for several years yields an abundant crop of 
delicate gray-green aromatic leaves, the odor of which 
pervades the entire neighborhood when the pickers 
are at work. The best sage is hand-picked and spread 
on racks under cover in a well ventilated barn, where 
it dries rapidly. In two weeks it is dumped, the ad- 
hering sand and dirt shaken out of the pile, and the 
cured leaf baled for shipment. Sage has been grown 
rather extensively in Virginia and other Southern 
States and in the North Central States. 

No story of drug-farming could be complete with- 
out devoting a few words to ginseng. More people 
are familiar with the name and fame of this drug than 
they are with any other, and yet it is used to a slight 
extent only in the medicines made and sold here. 
The ginseng industry used to be associated with the 
fur trade, because the trappers, in their rounds 
through the lonely forest wastes of the North, col- 
lected the roots and brought them into the settlements 



FARMING FOR MEDICINE 119 

with their wares. The dried roots have been exported 
from this country in increasing quantities since the 
early years of the eighteenth century, and, as the 
supplies from natural sources became more difficult 
to procure, the cultivation of the plant was undertaken, 
and at the present time a large part of the business 
is in the domesticated root. Some idea of the volume 
of the trade and the value of the commodity may be 
observed when it is seen that in the decade from 1860 
to 1869 more than four million pounds were sent out 
of the country, at a value of nearly fifteen million 
dollars. From 1910 to 1918 some two million pounds 
were exported, valued at nearly fifteen million dollars. 
Nearly all of this is absorbed by the population of 
Korea and China. 

It is an interesting historical fact that the first ven- 
ture in foreign trade of the new-born Republic of the 
United States was that of several merchants in New 
York and Philadelphia, who on Washington's Birth- 
day, 1784, cleared for Canton a ship fittingly named 
the Empress of China, loaded principally with ginseng 
to barter for teas and other manufactures of the 
Orient. 

Ginseng adapts itself readily to cultivation in New 
York, Michigan, Indiana, Kentucky, and Ohio, and 
in all of these States many plantations of a few acres 
each are maintained. The center of the exporting 
business is New York City, where several dealers have 
direct connections with distributors in China. 

The seed is usually sown in the late summer or 
early fall in protected beds, and the seedlings, which 
appear the following spring, are allowed to grow 



120 THE STORY OF DRUGS 

until the second year, when the roots are transferred 
to their permanent location. The beds in which the 
plants are allowed to mature are carefully located 
with respect to drainage, and the soil is so treated 
that it may contain 'the proper amount of sand and 
leaf-mold. Artificial shade is provided, unless the 
plantation is located in the woods, in which case all of 
the low trees and under-brush are cleared off, and 
the tall forest timber furnishes the shade that is es- 
sential to the life of this species. 

If the conditions are favorable, the roots are ready 
for the harvest about seven years after the seed has 
been planted. The crop requires attention during its 
development. Weeds must be kept down, the seed 
gathered in the fall, provision made against the 
ravages of weeds, mice and moles, and thievery. In 
some States the importance of the ginseng indus- 
try is recognized in the statutes, which make it a 
felony to rifle a ginseng garden. 

When the root is gathered, it must be carefully 
cured, and this requires an expert knowledge of the 
peculiar requirements of the trade. It is easy to 
spoil the crop at the end of the long seven years of 
waiting. Roots that are good and sound when gath- 
ered may be rendered hard and unsightly by improper 
drying; and, where they might have brought from 
eight 'to ten dollars a pound, or even more, if dried 
so that they will break with a soft and waxy fracture, 
they may be worth but a small fraction of this amount. 
The shape of the root often determines its value to 
the Chinaman, just as an elephant with twenty toes 
is worth more to an Indian than one with the custom- 





CANNABIS DRUG UNDER CULTIVATION HYDRASTIS CANADENSIS OR GOLDEN SEAL 




GINSENG LEAF AND ROOT 



ODD-SHAPED GINSENG ROOTS 

Courtesy of C. M. Goodspeed 




HENBANE SHRUB 



AMERICAN WORMSEED TOPS 




PLANT OF THE CAPSICUM PEPPER 



CULTIVATED HOREHOUND 



FARMING FOR MEDICINE 121 

ary number. Those for which the highest prices 
are paid resemble in shape the figure of a human 
being; and the more complete the resemblance is, with 
the arms and legs and other extremities characteristic 
of the nude male, the greater the value. 

Ginseng has been a source of considerable profit 
to those who have given its growing the proper at- 
tention and care ; but, where one has met with success, 
hundreds have met with disappointment. As a general 
proposition, the cultivation of ginseng and other slow- 
growing root drugs, like golden-seal, offers little in- 
ducement to any one who is not in a position to devote 
the necessary time to familiarizing himself with their 
life histories and the peculiar conditions incident to 
their propagation, and to wait long years until the 
first returns can be expected. 

The future of the drug-growing industry in this 
country is problematic. Mint-raising is well estab- 
lished, and has been for many years, and the same may 
be said of plantations of ginseng and golden-seal. 
The United States is looked upon as the original source 
of these commodities. As the supplies of other species 
of our indigenous staple drugs, such as senega, pink- 
root, aletris, cascara, and serpentaria, begin to 
dwindle, it will be necessary for some one to under- 
take their cultivation, and the study of their growth 
and habits under artificial conditions is now being 
worked out at the experimental farms of the Depart- 
ment of Agriculture. 

In the case of the exotic drugs, the fate of the in- 
dustry in their production will depend upon whether 
the American medicine-man is willing to pay a reason- 



122 THE STORY OF DRUGS 

able price for his supplies with the guaranty of a drug 
of high quality, or whether he will prefer the less ex- 
pensive imported stuff, even when of inferior grade. 
Our producers of exotic drugs cannot compete with the 
labor conditions abroad, and it is probable that, un- 
less such drugs as belladonna, digitalis, and sage re- 
ceive the protection of a moderate import duty, the 
business of supplying them will return entirely to 
foreign dealers. 



CHAPTER VI 

PATENT MEDICINES: THEIR PLACE IN THE ECONOMY 
OF THE NATION 
I 

We discussed in the second chapter the relation- 
ship existing between the several factors of the drug 
trade, and showed how the activities of one group 
merged with the activities of another. The position 
occupied by the industry engaged in the production 
of patent or proprietary medicines was noted, and it 
has been deemed expedient to devote a separate 
chapter to emphasize the place that these remedies 
occupy in the field of medicine and in the economy of 
the nation. Some of these preparations are in uni- 
versal use in the households of our population, and 
have become, so to speak, national institutions. 

The term "patent" medicine is a misnomer, for 
very few of these medicines have been granted pro- 
tection by means of letters patent. Many of their 
names have been copyrighted and the characteristic 
script trademarked. Some of them have been made 
and sold for so many years, and have become so well 
known, that altogether the owners have a proprietary 
right to the names and formulas of the preparations. 
"Proprietary" is a more appropriate designation, and 
these products are usually spoken of as proprietary 
remedies. 

123 



124 THE STORY OF DRUGS 

■ 

When proprietary medicines first began to appear on 

the market, patents were granted giving exclusive 
right to formulas sold under distinctive names, but 
this practice has long since ceased. An example of 
a popular remedy that until recently enjoyed patent 
protection, both for its manufacture and name, is 
that of aspirin. This substance is a chemical in- 
dividual, not a formula made up of several different 
drugs in admixture. It was evolved and patented by a 
German firm. Since its introduction it has been sold 
directly to the public. Patent rights are effective for 
seventeen years, and the protection thus accorded to 
aspirin expired a year or two ago. Copyright pro- 
tection to a name, a device, or an insignia is perpetual, 
and there is still some controversy over the exclusive 
right to the name, because the word "aspirin" is in 
some respects distinctive. The chemical name of the 
product is acetylsalicylic acid. 

This explanation has been made in order to show 
what actually constitutes a "patent" medicine, though, 
strictly speaking, it should be called a "patented" 
medicine. 

Proprietary medicines are those medicines with 
which the general public is most intimately acquainted. 
Attention is called to them by advertisements in the 
daily press. Some one and often several of them 
occupy prominent places on the shelves of the family 
medicine-chest. There is hardly any one of us who 
does not depend on some favorite cough syrup, liver 
pill, rheumatism relief, or headache cure when 
occasion calls for its use, and we take pleasure in 



PATENT MEDICINES 125 

recommending it to an ailing friend who may not have 
been cognizant of its virtues. 

The character of these preparations has always 
been a matter of considerable interest, but the only 
information on the subject, outside of that contained 
in the printed circulars accompanying the medicines 
themselves, has been that dispensed to the public in 
sensational magazine articles appearing from time to 
time, and that are more or less erroneous and mis- 
leading. It has been claimed that advertising in the 
lay press has been responsible for their continued ex- 
istence, that to this alone is due the success that they 
enjoy. It is true that, without this means of keeping 
before the public the facts of their existence, the 
business would languish; but the popularity of any 
individual proprietary remedy is due to other funda- 
mental reasons. 

In the drug trade, and especially among the re- 
tailers who are the actual dispensers of these 
medicines, there is a great deal of ignorance 
respecting their composition and character. In fact, 
it may be said that, outside of the manufacturers them- 
selves, those who are best acquainted with what pro- 
prietary medicines are, and what they will do, are the 
people who use them. 

It matters not how many sensational articles may 
appear decrying the practise of placing in the hands of 
the public medicines that consist chiefly of alcohol, 
water, and coloring matter, or brilliantly colored pills 
and tablets that cost but a trifle to make, or disguised 
dope, or other nonsense of like character, the 



126 THE STORY OF DRUGS 

mountaineer's wife in her lonely cabin, miles from the 
family doctor or the general store, keeps aniong her 
meager supplies her favorite remedies, which have 
rarely failed her in time of need ; and, as has already 
been noted, most of us keep a supply of some headache 
mixture, cough syrup, laxative pill, or tonic to use in 
an emergency. After we have become acquainted with 
them we use them because they yield the results we 
are seeking, and not because of the fact that 
their existence is kept before us by the advertising 
columns. 

The situation is ably summarized in the words of 
W. H. Cousins, a prominent retail druggist and 
pharmaceutical editor, who, in replying to a question- 
naire of the Commission on Proprietary Medicines of 
the American Pharmaceutical Association, said: "I 
have found that most people who buy medicines for 
self-medication do so because the remedy has given 
relief on former occasions. I feel safe in saying that 
ninety per cent, of the buyers of proprietary remedies 
do not know what they contain, neither do they care. 
The sale of a proprietary depends on the effect it has 
on the ailment for which it is recommended, and not 
on what it contains. ' ' * 

Not long ago a remedy for whooping-cough was be- 
fore the courts for review, and the prosecutor was 
endeavoring to show that there was no direct cure for 
the conditions that the claims on the package indicated 
the preparation was intended to relieve. Professional 
evidence was introduced tending to show that the 
product was of such a nature that no relief could be 

i Journal of the American Pharmaceutical Association, 1910; 
p. 1384. 



PATENT MEDICINES 127 

obtained from its use, and that the treatment of the 
disease should follow a certain approved course 
entirely different in character. The defense intro- 
duced the evidence of a number of practical children 's 
nurses and mothers who knew little about diagnosis as 
it is recognized by the trained physician, but they all 
knew children and all knew when children had whoop- 
ing-cough. One and all testified that when they had 
administered the medicine in question the children 
stopped whooping. The court was satisfied that, no 
matter if medical theory tended to show that the treat- 
ment of whooping-cough should follow an entirely dif- 
ferent course than that which was contemplated by 
the use of this remedy, the results obtained by those 
who had tried it showed that it contained something in 
its makeup which did stop the children's whooping. 
That was what the mother wanted, and that was what 
the remedy claimed to do. 

The above narrative is cited as an example to show 
why some popular remedies have acquired their 
reputation. Their best advertisers are really their 
satisfied patrons. 

Up to fifteen years ago the descriptive matter on the 
labels and packages of proprietary remedies contained 
much that was objectionable, and in many instances the 
claims were absolutely false. Many of the remedies 
themselves were of doubtful character. Certain 
classes were unquestionably a menace to the public. 
But all medicines advertised directly to the public were 
looked upon as being in the same family. The good 
ones were not distinguished from the bad. The 
passage of the National Food and Drugs Act, popularly 



128 THE STORY OF DRUGS 

known as the "Pure Food Law," and the enactment 
of similar legislation in many of the States, opened 
up an entirely new era in the history of proprietary 
medicines. Shortly thereafter those products that 
were purely fictitious in character and purpose be- 
gan to disappear, and there has been a gradual weed- 
ing out of those that were objectionable either in their 
composition or for the purposes for which they were 
intended. Firms whose medicines possessed meri- 
torious properties, and which were objectionable only 
because of mistaken methods of labeling, largely due 
to the conditions that prevailed in the industry prior 
to 1907, revised their circulars to meet the new order. 
Those remedies that have survived are actually in 
a stronger position to-day than they were before the 
inauguration of the remedial legislation. 

A tribute should be paid to Dr. Harvey W. Wiley 
for his aggressive work in administering the law in 
the early years of its operation, and his uncompromis- 
ing attitude toward unworthy preparations. Those 
manufacturers who now enjoy the protection of the 
law, and whose products are being used because they 
possess signal merit, owe him a debt of gratitude, 
though perhaps Dr. Wiley might not appreciate the 
testimonial. 

There is a fallacious belief that some proprietary 
remedies furnish the means whereby the "dope" habit 
is acquired. But if one will refer to the requirements 
imposed by the Proprietary Association itself on its 
members, and which are quoted in a subsequent para- 
graph, it will be noted that the use of such habit-form- 



PATENT MEDICINES 129 

ing drugs as opium, morphin, codein, and other 
derivatives of opium, is permitted only under very 
restricted conditions, and in relatively small dosage. 
The use of cocain is not allowed. Some time previous 
to the enactment of the Food and Drug Law and the 
Harrison Anti-Narcotic Law, there were several treat- 
ments for the morphin and opium habit advertised 
and sold directly to the public, nearly all of which 
contained morphin and opium; and, as anyone could 
buy them, they furnished a ready medium for obtain- 
ing the drugs. Furthermore, there were several 
brands of catarrh snuff on the market that contained 
morphin. Cocain was sold in large quantities as an 
ingredient of certain popular asthma cures. The 
remedial legislation cited above has stopped the traffic 
in all of these products. 

But by far the greater number of unfortunate vic- 
tims of the use of cocain and the opiates have not 
acquired the habit through the classes of medicine just 
mentioned, which were available to all before the 
Harrison Act went into effect. They became addicts 
as a result of treatment by the medical profession for 
some condition requiring the use of narcotics, or by 
association with other addicts. 

Acetanilid, phenacetin, and aspirin are not "dope," 
and if properly used should cause no untoward effects. 
They are not habit-forming in the sense that those 
who take preparations containing them become addicts. 
They are employed to relieve pain, and hence have 
functioned extensively as ingredients of headache mix- 
tures and neuralgia cures. While over-indulgence in 



130 THE STORY OF DRUGS 

such preparations is not commendable, it does not 
merit the same concern as does the habitual use of the 
opiates and cocain. 

After the house-cleaning incident to the administra- 
tion of the Pure Food Law and the readjustment that 
naturally followed, the trade in the old-line proprie- 
taries steered a straight and comparatively unruffled 
course until the advent of national prohibition. Then, 
when the business of manufacturing and dealing in 
intoxicating liquors became outlawed, a number of 
firms that had heretofore been engaged in the liquor 
business embarked in the compounding of medicines 
and flooded the country with quantities of preparations 
that were simply camouflaged liquors. One of the 
mistaken popular notions is that liquid proprietary 
medicines are composed chiefly of alcohol, and that any 
beneficial effects derived from them are due to this 
stimulant. The actual facts are that the old-line 
liquid remedies contained no more alcohol than is nec- 
essary to keep the medicinal agents in solution and 
prevent spoilage from bacteria and molds. However, 
the liquor trade apparently did not know this, and, as 
their new products were advertised extensively and 
soon became generally known and talked about, the 
idea that liquid proprietary medicines owed their vir- 
tues to alcohol became more deeply rooted than ever, 
and for a time was a cause of great concern. The con- 
sumption of alcohol, which had been running along at 
a normal average for the entire medicine trade of the 
country, suddenly jumped to several times the cus- 
tomary volume, the increase being due to the introduc- 
tion of the new element in the trade. 



PATENT MEDICINES 131 

This condition nearly brought the entire medicine 
industry into discredit; but, fortunately, there were 
sane men at the head of the administrative forces in 
Washington. They knew what was legitimate and 
what was not, and again the weeding-out process began 
and again the meritorious remedies came forth un- 
scathed. It is an interesting fact that, of the thousands 
of bona^fide complaints received by the Prohibition 
Unit, not one involved a legitimate proprietary rem- 
edy that had been firmly established before the 
Volstead Act was passed. 

As a matter of fact, at the time the Volstead Act 
went into effect, and for some time previously, there 
were no legitimate proprietary remedies that were 
capable of being imbibed for the satisfaction that might 
have been gained because of the alcohol. They con- 
tained medication of one kind or another, depending on 
the conditions they were intended to relieve, in suffi- 
cient quantity to produce a therapeutic reaction in 
relatively small doses. It is admitted that there were 
on the market at that time a large number of alcoholic 
medicinal bitters, tonics, and the like, labeled in a 
way that suggested that they were medicines ; but for 
many years the Bureau' 6f Internal Eevenue had been 
classifying as beverages products containing less than 
an average dose of some recognized remedial agent to 
the fluid ounce and more alcohol than was necessary 
for solution and preservation, and compelling their 
manufacturers to pay the usual liquor tax in order to 
sell them. By this means the real medicines had been 
separated from a class of preparations which were the 
cause of the criticism that had before that time been 



132 THE STORY OF DRUGS 

made against all proprietaries containing alcohol. 
This quiet and conscientious work of the laboratory 
staff of the Bureau of Internal Revenue has never re- 
ceived the credit it deserves. It was doing with little 
cost what the Prohibition Law is trying to do at an 
enormous expense. 

In 1915 the Proprietary Association of America, em- 
bracing some eighty per cent, of the entire trade in 
bona fide medicines advertised directly to the public, 
adopted a set of requirements to which all products 
sold by their membership were obliged to conform. 
These requirements were based on a report which had 
been made in 1915 by the American Pharmaceutical 
Association, the national organization representing all 
branches of the drug trade and the chemists and educa- 
tors engaged in pharmaceutical practice. 

The requirements for membership and provisions 
for enforcement of the same are as follows : 

(1) The preparation must be of such character as may 
reasonably be expected to bring about the results for which 
it is recommended. Statements on packages and elsewhere 
regarding composition, origin, place of manufacture, and 
name of manufacturer or distributor must be in exact 
accordance with the facts. Statements regarding therapeu- 
tic effects must neither be obviously unreasonable nor demon- 
strably false. 

(2) The preparation must not be offered or intended 
directly or indirectly for use as an abortifacient nor for any 
other immoral or illegal purpose. 

(3) The preparation must not contain cocain or eucain 2 ; 

2Eucain is an organic chemical prepared synthetically. It is not 
derived from cocain and bears no resemblance to it in chemical com- 
position. It is an anesthetic, and is used in medicine for producing the 
same effqcts that are produced by cocain. 



PATENT MEDICINES 133 

nor shall it contain opium or any of its alkaloids or their 
derivatives in greater proportions than those specified in 
Section Six of the federal law commonly known as the Har- 
rison Act, and it shall also contain other active drugs in such 
proportions that when used as directed it will not be likely to 
create or satisfy a drug habit; provided that if specially in- 
tended for the use of babies or small children the preparation 
shall contain none of the drugs named in this section in any 
quantity. 3 

(4) If the preparation contains alcohol, the amount shall 
not be greater than is properly necessary to -hold in solution 
in permanently active condition the essential constituents 
of the preparation, and to protect against freezing, fermen- 
tation, or other deleterious change, and the medication shall 
be sufficient to render the preparation unsuitable for use as 
an intoxicating beverage. 

(5) The preparation must not be advertised or recom- 
mended as a cure for diseases or conditions which are 
generally recognized as incurable by the simple administra- 
tion of drugs. 

(6) The package, either as to wrapper, label, or accom- 
panying literature, shall contain no statement in conflict with 
the misbranding provisions of the Federal Food and Drugs 
Act. 

(7) The preparation must be of such a character as not to 
endanger life or health if used in accordance with instruc- 
tions accompanying the package. 

(8) In order to secure the enforcement of these require- 
ments and to take charge of the examinations necessary to 
that end, a Committee on Requirements shall be selected by 
the Executive Committee, with power to carry out the work 
as outlined by these requirements, under such rules and with 
such salaries as may be determined by the Executive 
Committee, to which Committee may be appealed any find- 

s Opium, morphine, heroin, codein, cocalln, alpha and beta eucain. 



134 THE STORY OF DRUGS 

ings of such Committee on Requirements. For the purpose 
of rendering all possible aid to the members in the work of 
conforming their preparations to the requirements, each 
member shall submit for examination to such Committee on 
Requirements complete packages of his preparations, includ- 
ing all literature contained in such packages, with such in- 
formation as may be necessary to determine the fact of com- 
pliance in all respects with such requirements. No mem- 
ber shall be obliged, under this provision, to reveal his 
formula. 

In order to make its policies effective, the Proprie- 
tary Association established a permanent Require- 
ments Committee, under the supervision of which all 
the labels and reading-matter accompanying the pack- 
ages of medicines sold by its membership were studied 
and revised in the light of the composition of the reme- 
dies and the latest authoritative medical knowledge. 
Any firm seeking admission to the association is 
obliged to furnish the committee with a complete set 
of its labels and literature. Membership is not granted 
until the recommendations are agreed to. Some of the 
best technical talent of this country is now associated 
with the industry. The latest improvements in special 
apparatus and machinery necessary for the making of 
medicines have been installed by the individual firms, 
until now such plants as the Peruna Company, the 
Swift Specific Company, and the Chattanooga Med- 
icine Company, are among the best equipped of any 
factories manufacturing medicine in the world. 

The association has instituted a series of important 
researches on the larger problems affecting its busi- 
ness. The studies have included the determination 



PATENT MEDICINES 135 

of possible ways and means of reducing and eliminat- 
ing the use of alcohol in the preparation of liquid med- 
icines. The results have been so successful that many 
firms have been able to adjust their formulas and to 
reduce the alcoholic content of their preparations to 
less than one half what it formerly was. Researches 
on the physiological action of individual drugs and 
their effect in various combinations are in progress, 
and methods are being worked out for estimating the 
quantities and proportions of various drugs and chem- 
icals in complex mixtures, where heretofore no well- 
defined processes have been known. 

Individual proprietors are conducting special re- 
searches on their own immediate problems, and the 
results obtained are often of remarkable scientific im- 
portance. 

On the whole, it may be asserted that the association 
embracing the old-line and some of the newer legit- 
imate proprietary remedies is to-day the most pro- 
gressive organization in the whole field of drugs and 
medicines. v 

The capital represented by this industry, according 
to the census taken in 1914, amounted to more than 
seventy-one millions of dollars, which is about twenty- 
five millions more than is represented by the industry 
engaged in manufacturing pharmaceuticals and chem- 
icals for the drug trade. 4 

A large proportion of the firms engaged in the man- 

* Parallel figures for the industries as shown by the 1919 census 
are not fully compiled as yet (November, 1921), but the data for 
Massachusetts shows for the proprietary industry an increase in cap- 
ital of between 30 and 40 per cent, over 1914, and the conditions in 
this State are fairly representative for the country at large. 



136 THE STORY OF DRUGS 

ufacture and distribution of proprietaries are con- 
cerned with one main product and perhaps a few 
others of lesser importance. A few of them put out 
quite an extensive line of medicines for various pur- 
poses; but this is not usual, and those that are thus 
engaged are concerned with supplying a special clas« 
of patrons in the rural and more isolated localities. 

The individual legitimate proprietary medicines to- 
day are representative of the highest perfection of the 
art of the pharmacist and chemist, be they offered in 
the form of pill or tablet, powder or granule, elixir 
or emulsion, syrup or complex extract. Since each 
product is made in enormous quantities, the process of 
manufacture has become standardized, and uniformity 
in character is assured. Ingredients of the highest 
quality only are employed. They are selected from 
the best of the supplies offered by the crude drug and 
chemical trade, and as the individual items used by 
a successful firm amount to enormous quantities 
yearly, competition for the trade is keen. 

Proprietary medicines need no excuse for their 
existence. They have been evolved because there is a 
public demand for them. They fill a place among the 
necessities of life that can be filled in no other way. 
The manufacturing houses supplying the goods used 
by the retail druggist, in catering to the wants of the 
doctors of the country, do not advertise their wares 
directly to the public, and they have all they can do 
to keep up with the needs of the doctors. The 
proprietary manufacturers sell their medicines 
through the drug trade, too, but the demand for them 
is largely from the public direct, though a large por- 



PATENT MEDICINES 137 

tion of business results from recommendations by 
doctors. For example, most of us have heard the 
family physician advise the use of Scott 's Emulsion 
or Pepto-Mangan, or Fellow's Syrup of Hypophos- 
phites for a convalescent from some wasting illness. 

One of the main reasons for the existence of propri- 
etary remedies is that the family may have on hand, 
when occasion calls, a shelf stocked with useful and 
reliable remedial agents. When the little boy or girl 
wakes up in the night and chokes out an agonizing 
cough, there is no time, even in our thickly populated 
cities, to call the doctor or run to the drug-store; 
the croup must be relieved immediately by the quick 
application of some irritant and aromatic salve or 
embrocation. In the country districts and in the 
isolated hamlets of the mountains and prairies, where 
the doctor may be out of call except from a personal 
messenger, the necessity of having something of this 
kind within reach is apparent to everyone. 

The sudden onset of severe congestion in the chest, 
or the racking cough that may develop after a day of 
exposure, demands quick relief from some remedy 
close at hand. Acute indigestion of the adult from 
imprudent eating, and the agonizing and intolerable 
pains of the child resulting from a surreptitious pic- 
nic in the apple or peach orchard, requires prompt 
attention. The onset of an acute attack of rheu- 
matism, so common where living conditions are un- 
fortunately not so sanitary as they should be, is 
ameliorated by the prompt resort to one of the nu- 
merous mixtures that have been evolved for treating 
these painful symptoms. The necessary local applica- 



138 THE STORY OF DRUGS 

tion for rheumatism, as well as the pain and soreness 
resulting from the strains and wrenches of a laborer's 
calling, must be kept on hand, whether they be Sloan's 
or Johnson's Anodyne liniment, or some other fa- 
vorite formula. 

Acute headaches must be relieved, boils, carbuncles, 
and corns mitigated, the onset of a sudden attack of 
diarrhea checked, poisons by insects and ivy reduced, 
the mouth and throat washed with an antiseptic, the 
scalp cleaned of dandruff, and many other simple 
annoyances to the human system corrected; and for 
any one or all of them the family medicine-chest must 
contain its panacea. 

Constipation, our national ailment, which is no 
respecter of persons, be they high or low in the social 
scale, is catered to by a startling array of laxative 
pills, tablets, and powders. Every one of us knows 
the particular product to which his system responds 
with the greatest satisfaction. It is a truism that if 
our people were thoughtful about the food they in- 
gested and were particular about the functioning of 
their alimentary canals, a large proportion of the 
common ailments, outside of the social diseases, would 
not occur. But, as relatively few of our people stop 
to think of the future when they sit down to a meal, 
and as there seems to be no prospect of educating 
them to become dietitians during the next fifty years, 
there will be indigestion and constipation among us, 
and, as long as there is going to be indigestion and 
constipation, the people are going to want remedies 
for them. 

In this discussion references have been made to the 



PATENT MEDICINES 139 

dependence of the rural population on family med- 
icines. We pride ourselves on being an agricultural 
country. We consider our farmers the backbone of 
the nation. Their farms are everywhere, near our 
large cities, in the rich valleys of the rivers draining 
the Alleghanies, by the broad expanses of the sea- 
coast, in the clearings of the forest-lands of the North- 
west, on the flat and sun-baked prairies, and on the 
slopes and ridges of the mountain-ranges. Their life 
is such that they and their families are often subjected 
to periods of strain and overwork, sometimes to condi- 
tions of sanitation that are not of the best ; they breed 
more profusely than does the urban population ; their 
women are more prone to surfer the discomforts pecul- 
iar to their sex; and accidents with lacerations and 
liability to infection are common. Many other condi- 
tions incident to their environment and mode of life 
make it essential that they should have at their dis- 
posal well tried remedies, permanent in character, 
properly packed to withstand climatic conditions, the 
dampness of the sea-coast and river-bottom and the 
parching heat of the prairie, and which are so uniform 
in their composition that, given a definite set of symp- 
toms, they can reasonably expect to obtain the same re- 
lief from a package bought to-day that they obtained 
when seeking the same relief from a package pur- 
chased a year ago. 

Legitimate proprietary remedies, as they are now 
offered to the public, are in the main products repre- 
senting the highest type of the pharmacist's art. They 
are made of ingredients carefully chosen to fulfil the 
promises of the claims on the label and in the circular. 



140 THE STORY OF DRUGS 

Those requiring alcohol in, their make-up contain no 
more than is necessary to hold the ingredients in solu- 
tion and keep the mixture from spoiling. They are 
not suitable to be used for beverage purposes. They 
do not contain "dope." The amount of capital in- 
vested and the yearly business of the industry is many 
times greater than that represented by any other 
group in the drug business. The remedies are uni- 
versally employed by our entire citizenship, and for 
certain classes of the population are indispensable, 
since they furnish the only relief available when sud- 
den illness strikes, and when the isolated householder 
requires the aid of drugs for general family use and 
for emergencies. 



CHAPTER Vn 



In the early spring, when the budding leaves con- 
vert the woodlands into an effective canopy of fresh 
yellowish green, one may observe in the open spaces, 
poking up through the dry carpeting, irregular cir- 
cular clumps of umbrella- shaped leaflets, which gradu- 
ally unfold as the days go by, until the space for a 
foot or more above the ground is covered with a mass 
of brilliant foliage. These beds are striking objects 
on the landscape at this season of the year in the rich 
woodlands east of the Mississippi, and are familiar to 
the most casual observer traveling through the coun- 
try, whether on foot, by automobile, or by train. 
They are colonies of the May-apple, or mandrake, in- 
digenous to North America, and one of our most 
valuable drug plants. 

A few inches below the surface of the ground, over- 
lapping and interlacing, the sinuous roots spread out 
in all directions, often from six to ten feet in length, 
forming a tangled network. In this root nature has 
provided a metabolism that produces a bitter agent 
having a specific action on that important organ, of 
mankind, the liver; and year by year it is being gener- 
ated by the countless and seemingly inexhaustible 
colonies of May-apple plants. This complex sub- 

141 



142 THE STORY OF DRUGS 

stance, really a mixture of two individuals, 1 has never 
been produced outside of this laboratory of nature. 
What the steps are in the process we do not know, but 
they are more wonderful than any that have yet been 
developed in the best equipped chemical laboratories of 
modern times. Working under natural conditions, 
unaided by high temperatures and pressures or by 
drastic reagents, the vital fluids of the mandrake root 
quietly react to produce those bodies which, from the 
day that some prehistoric Indian discovered their vir- 
tues, stimulated the livers of the red men down to 
the time that Columbus came, since which time they 
have aided countless thousands all over the globe — a 
contribution from the New World. 

The American mandrake should not be confused with 
the mandrake cited in the Bible. The latter is a 
species of mandragora, a plant allied to the belladonna 
group, containing active principles of entirely dif- 
ferent characters. Of late a variety of true man- 
drake has come on the market from India, and this 
is fortunate, because our native supplies are not inex- 
haustible, the annual drain being enormous and con- 
tinually on the increase. 

The processes by which the active principles are 
generated and stored away in the cells of a plant are 
among the most marvelous of natural phenomena. 
The cinchona tree produces quinin; the nux vomica 
bush strychnin; morphin and a host of other alkaloids 
are synthesized by the maturing poppy ; santonin by a 
variety of wormwood allied to the absinthe plant; and 
atropin by the belladonna shrub. None of them has 

i Podophyllotoxin and picropodophillin. 



NATUBE'S GIFT TO MANKIND 143 

been duplicated in the chemical laboratory, though 
the researches on the artificial production of quinin 
have resulted in the discovery of a host of valuable 
drugs, of which antipyrin is perhaps the most striking 
example. 

The secretion of the active principles occurs during 
the active growing stages of the life history of the 
plant, often reaching its height just before it launches 
forth on those phases of its activity that develop the 
means for its reproduction. For example, the growing 
belladonna shows a gradual increment in the percen- 
tage of atropin up to the time that it is in full flower. 
At the height of the season it may show two or three 
times the potency it had when it was putting forth 
its branches and developing its leaf system. After 
the flowering period, the metabolic processes secrete 
less atropin, and hence the potency diminishes gradu- 
ally up to the cessation of growth. 

It is an observation of considerable significance to 
the chemist that the synthesis of these important plant 
principles, chemical individuals themselves, each with 
its own complement of atoms unvarying in number 
and character of grouping, occurs within a range of 
only a comparatively few degrees of temperature. To 
bring about chemical synthesis in the laboratory a 
high temperature is usually required, and in order 
to consummate the reaction, the assistance of pressure, 
produced by artificial means, is often essential. Oil 
of wintergreen, a valuable medicine for rheumatism 
as well as a delightful flavoring agent for confec- 
tionery, can be made artificially, the synthetic product 
having exactly the same composition as the natural oil 



144 THE STORY OF DRUGS 

and answering the same purposes. Pure oil of winter- 
green is a chemical individual, as are quinin and 
strychnin, differing, therefore, from most other flavor- 
ing and medicinal oils, which are usually mixtures of 
varying quantities of several different substances. 
Unlike quinin or strychnin, however, it is of relatively 
simple composition, being a derivative of salicylic 
acid, known in chemical nomenclature as methyl sali- 
cylate. Though this oil is associated particularly by 
the non-scientist, with the pretty little wintergreen 
plant, or checkerberry, the same substance occurs in 
the bark of sweet birch, from which source the natural 
oil is now almost exclusively distilled. 

The production of the artificial oil is accomplished 
only with the aid of high temperatures and pressures, 
and by the inter-reaction of strong chemicals. Car- 
bolic acid and caustic soda in proper proportions are 
introduced into a tight iron»drum, where the mixture 
is brought to a high temperature by means of arti- 
ficial heat. Inside the drum a high pressure de- 
velops, and carbonic acid is pumped into the molten 
mass. There is thus formed a substance known as 
sodium salicylate, the sodium salt of salicylic acid. 
When the reaction is complete, the mass is cooled, 
dissolved in water, and treated with muriatic acid 
(hydrochloric acid), which decomposes the sodium 
salicylate. From this liquid the salicylic acid crystal- 
lizes. The separated acid is mixed with methyl alcohol 
and heated under proper conditions in the presence of 
strong sulphuric acid, or oil of vitriol. It is in this 
way that methyl salicylate is formed, after which 
it is separated from the crude mixture by distillation, 




MANDRAKE OR MAY APPLE IX ITS NATIVE YTOODLAND 




CHIONANTHUS VIRGINICA 
The Beautiful Fringe Tree of the South 




TURKEY CORN AND TRILLIUM 



WILD VALERIAN 




1** » 



LADY S SLIPPER PLANT 

The Cypripedium of the Nerve Remedies 



NATURE'S GIFT TO MANKIND 145 

and then purified. The resulting substance is identical 
in every respect with the pure oil distilled from the 
leaves of the wintergreen herb, or from the twigs and 
bark of the black-birch tree. But how different is its 
mode of creation from the unobtrusive processes tak- 
ing place in the metabolism of the producing agents 
of nature! 

During the millions of years that have elapsed since 
the inception of the Proterozoic age, when life was 
beginning to appear on the earth in its lowest forms 
as represented by the animalcula and protozoa, the 
evolutionary processes have gradually developed a 
countless number of microorganisms, parasites, and 
contagia, responsible for the various diseases and 
pathogenic conditions to which the human race is 
susceptible. Coincident with this growth, and ever 
since plant life became a feature in the economy of 
nature, there have been evolved the remedial agents 
needed by man to combat the pathogenic hosts. 

Primitive man found relief for his ailments from 
the herbs of the field and forest, and as his knowledge 
and experience increased the first elements of medical 
science were assembled. Garrison 2 in a summary of 
the development of medical plant lore, says : 

The hieratic writings of the Egyptian papyri reveal an 
unusually extensive materia medica, the excellence of which 
is vouched for in the Homeric poems, and which can to-day 
be duplicated, in extent at least, in the materia medica of 
old civilizations like China or Japan, or even in our own 
bulky pharmacopoeias. We find that savages in different 
countries knew instinctively the most fatal arrow-poisons — 
curare, ouabain, veratrin, boundou — as well as the virtues of 

2 "History of Medicine," 1913, p. 21. 



146 THE STORY OF DRUGS 

drugs like opium, hashish, hemp, coca, cinchona, eucalyptus, 
sarsaparilla, acacia, kousso, copaiba, guaiac, jalap, podo- 
phyllin, or quassia. 

Not to go further than our own country, we find the North 
American Indians aware that arbutus is ''good" for rheuma- 
tism ; lobelia for coughs and colds ; wild sage tea, golden-seal, 
flowering dogwood, and prickly-ash berries for fevers; elder, 
wild cherry, and sumac for colds and quinsies; wild ginger, 
ginseng, and euphorbia for digestive disorders; inhalations 
of penny-royal for headache; sassafras or violet leaves for 
wounds and felons; and the roots of sassafras and sarsapa- 
rilla for ' ' cooling and purifying the blood. ' ' 

In 1535-36 the Iroquois around Quebec, as Jacques Cartier 
relates, treated scurvy in his crew very successfully with an 
infusion of the bark and leaves of the hemlock spruce; and 
the French at Onondaga in 1657 found the sassafras leaves, 
recommended by the same tribe, ''marvelous" for closing 
wounds of all kinds. The "Materia Medica Americana" 
(1780) of the old Anspach-Bayreuth surgeon Schoepf, who 
came over with the Hessian troops during the war of the 
Kevolution, shows that the Anglo-S*axon settlers in the New 
World had already learned many wrinkles in herb-therapy 
from the red men, in addition to the very rich medical folk- 
lore which they undoubtedly brought with them from Old 
England. The plant-lore of rural England included a knowl- 
edge of the virtues of camomile, sage, and dandelion teas as 
laxatives; of marjoram and primrose root for headache; of 
wormwood as a tonic; of valerian for the "nerves"; of agri- 
mony and parsley for jaundice; of meadow-saffron (col- 
chicum) for gout; of fennel, eye-bright (euphrasy), and rue 
for bad eyesight; of male-fern and peach-leaves for worms; 
of tansy as a vermifuge and abortif acient ; of horehound, 
marshmallow, or candied elecampane for coughs and colds; 
of foxglove as "the opium of the heart"; and of moonwort, 
alehoof, and goldenrod. English poetry and folk-lore are 



NATURE'S GIFT TO MANKIND 147 

full of references to thyme and marjoram, rosemary and rue, 
mistletoe and ash, as well as poisons like hemlock, leopard 's- 
bane (aconite), the deadly nightshade (belladonna), "the 
juice of cursed hebenon" (yew), and henbane (hyoscyamus), 
which Aretaeus regarded as a cause of insanity and to which 
Shakespeare refers in the same spirit as 
"the insane root 
That takes the reason prisoner.' ' 

Asphodel, or dittany, is often mentioned in the Homeric 
poems as a balm against the pain of newly inflicted wounds, 
and the same tradition is still current among the country 
folk of Lancashire, Ireland, and the moors of Scotland. 

The extent to which nature's storehouse is drawn 
upon for some of our most extensively used medicines 
is almost beyond comprehension. Hundreds of tons of 
botanical drugs are annually converted into proprie- 
tary remedies for direct sale to the public. Equally 
large quantities are absorbed by the medicine manu- 
facturers who produce the countless formulas sold by 
the druggist and prescribed by the physician. Lloyd, 3 
as a result of a research into the extent of the employ- 
ment of vegetable drugs by American physicians, 
found that, with all classes of practitioners, ten of 
the drugs prescribed most frequently included aconite, 
bryonia, cimicifuga (black cohosh), belladonna, nux- 
vomica, gelsemium, veratrum (American hellebore), 
cactus, Pulsatilla, and echinacea (purple cornflower). 
In the course of his inquiry he received replies from 
more than ten thousand general practitioners, with 
more than six thousand of whom cactus was cited as 
a dependable remedy, either as a sedative, a diuretic, 

3 Journal American Pharmaceutical Association, 1912. 



148 THE STOEY OF DRUGS 

or for diseases of the heart. More than five thousand 
of the same group of physicians employed, in the order 
cited, hydrastis (golden-seal) aconite, gelsemium 
(yellow jasmine), ipecac, digitalis, ergot, belladonna, 
nux vomica, hyoscyamus (henbane), and echinacea. 

Professor Lloyd's inquiry showed conclusively that 
practising physicians made free use of the natural 
drugs. Not only did they place dependence on those 
above mentioned, but also on some two hundred or 
more representing a great variety of types. The data 
obtained referred only to the use of the drugs them- 
selves in some form or other exhibiting the individual 
in its entirety. They did not include information on 
the extent to which use was made of the pure active 
principles of the botanic drugs, such as strychnin, 
morphin, quinin, etc. For instance, santonica, the 
Levant worm-seed, is seldom employed as a remedial 
agent, except perhaps in veterinary practice, but its 
characteristic principle, santonin, is one of the most 
dependable remedial agents in the materia medica. 
Similarly, tea and coffee would hardly appear on a 
list of commonly used drugs, but they both yield caffein, 
a safe and valuable stimulant to the mental processes 
and a defense against fatigue. 

By far the greater part of the vast volume of botani- 
cal drugs compounded into medicines are obtained 
from natural sources. In locating her laboratories in 
different parts of the world, nature selected, as one 
of them, a vast wilderness in the mountainous region 
which one day was to be the southeastern United 
States. Here, in what is now southern Virginia and 
North Carolina, there gradually developed through the 



NATURE'S GIFT TO MANKIND 149 

ages a wonderful flora, influenced by the tropics on one 
side and the bracing climate to the northward, of 
which perhaps some six hundred or more species have 
had medicinal application. Out of this Blue Ridge 
section of the Southern Applachian System now comes 
75 per cent, of North America's contribution to the 
drug supplies of the world. 

Ewing and Stanford 4 have written an interesting 
account of a personal survey of the botanical resources 
and the methods pursued by the drug-collectors in 
this region. They found that: 

Crude drugs are collected in small amounts by a large 
proportion of the people of the mountains. Few, or none, 
gather drugs as a chief occupation. The mountaineers, in 
general, make their principal livings on tiny hillside clear- 
ings. Because of the rugged character of the land, which 
unfits it for machine farming, large plantations are rarely 
found. Marketing of farm crops in large amounts is also 
difficult, owing to the steep grades and poor repair of the 
mountain roads, which in many places are little more than 
bridle-paths. Work away from the farms is normally scarce 
and wages are extremely low. Drug-collection is carried on 
largely when no other work offers, chiefly by the women and 
children, and is a rather haphazard process. The men, in 
general, consider such occupations beneath them, and collect, 
ostensibly, only heavy and bulky products, such as barks 
of the larger trees, and bring in the other products with an 
apologetic "Here's some yarbs the women got." The prin- 
cipal collecting seasons are spring, when most barks and 
some roots are gathered, and late summer, when the crops 
no longer need cultivating, and herbs, leaves, and flowers 
abound, and roots may be distinguished by the herbage. . . . 

4 Journal American Pharmaceutical Association, 1919, p. 16. 



150 THE STORY OF DRUGS 

The firms of the Blue Ridge region, with one exception, 
grind no drugs. 

Incoming stocks are, in some cases, inspected by the dealer 
in person. A number of firms employ comparatively young 
men as inspectors; in other cases, veterans grown old in 
the trade pass on the drugs. These inspectors, apparently 
without exception, are without scholastic training in science, 
and in some cases are quite illiterate. Scientific names of 
drugs are almost unknown. Microscopic and chemical tests 
are not resorted to. Even a hand-lens is rarely or ever used. 
Appearance, odor, taste, and "feel" are the chief criteria. 
With long experience, these inspectors attain a remarkable 
proficiency. Some even claim sound as definitive. One 
veteran, in search of certain material, went through a pile 
of unmarked bags, announcing the contents of each after 
a thrust or shake. Interrogation brought forth the modest 
response, "I reckon I tell 'em by the rattle." 

Colored help is frequently employed in the warehouses, 
but the inspectors are almost invariably white. One 
colored veteran, however, boasted an experience of forty-two 
years. While unable to read or write, he has a wide repu- 
tation as a "doctor" among his own race, and even is said 
to "send medicines North." The knowledge of these in- 
spectors as to the various properties of the products they 
handle, and of other locally used "medicinals," is an in- 
teresting blend of hearsay, superstition, tradition, and folk- 
lore, some of which, indeed, is hardly peculiar to this region 
alone. Beech-drops (Epiphegiis virginiana) "drop from 
the beech limbs and take root." "Mold "-bean is so called 
in the erratic local orthography because it "keeps moles 
out of the gardens." As castor-bean, this plant has 
attained rather a wider celebrity. Spicewood leaves, dit- 
tany tea, and a tea made from the excrement of sheep are 
sovereign remedies to "bust out measles." Buckeyes are 
carried in the pocket as a cure for piles. Black-willow buds 



NATURE'S GIFT TO MANKIND 151 

and bark are "a great friend to man" for their anaphrodi- 
siae qualities. Pennyroyal leaves and cotton-root bark are 
said to be in common use as domestic ecbolics, although 
observations in the region would lead one to doubt their 
universal efficacy. 

The natural supplies of drugs yielded by this pro- 
ducing area in our Southern mountains will be ade- 
quate for the demands of the medicine-maker for many 
years to come. But they are not inexhaustible, and 
year by year it becomes necessary to go farther and 
farther into the wilderness to gather the necessary 
amounts. 

To follow the seasons in a region where the medic- 
inal flora exists in its virgin state is a privilege that 
must be experienced in order to be appreciated, and 
as the years go by the opportunity to do so is passing. 
Outside of the comparatively inaccessible mountainous 
country where drug-collecting forms the chief re- 
munerative occupation of the inhabitants, there are 
very few localities in which one can observe an array 
of medicinal flora growing undisturbed. There is, 
however, one spot not far from the national Capital 
where an organization, known as the Washington 
Biologists ' Field Club, has been able to maintain, 
against all artificial encroachments, a shrine of nature 
in all its primitive attractiveness. Here, on the shores 
of the Potomac, a bit of the Piedmont, 5 some fifty acres 

s The term "Piedmont" means the foot of the mountain, and it is 
customary in many countries to give this term to a belt of country 
lying at the foot of some prominent range and extending indefinitely 
away from it. Originally the local usage restricted the term "Pied- 
mont" to a belt some thirty or forty miles wide lying just east of 
the Blue Kidge and including on its surface a number of isolated 
knobs and ridges that clearly distinguish it from the more perfect 



152 THE STORY OF DRUGS 

in extent, representing woodland, swamp, and river- 
bottom, has been kept just as nature prepared it cen- 
turies ago for the wild life that has come down to 
the present day. Due to a policy of intelligent conser- 
vation, the native flora has flourished to such an extent 
that to-day the fame of its beauty and variety has 
spread all over the country wherever there are men and 
women engaged in biological pursuits, and if their 
travels take them to Washington, one of the first re- 
quests is to be shown the treasures at Plummer 's Island. 
It is impressive to view the succession of blooming 
flora that accompanies the changing seasons, from the 
time when the first hepaticas bend their delicate pur- 
plish-white and blue petals to the February winds, 
until the lingering cardinal-flowers, wahoo, and spice- 
berries give a touch of brightness to the somber woods 

plain farther east. It is recognized as* extending from South of New 
York State down into Georgia. The eastern boundary is marked by 
the so-called "Fall" line. 

The old continental area that once extended out beyond the margin 
of the Atlantic gradually sank in the east until the sea came inland 
to a line marked by the cities of Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washing- 
ton, Richmond, Columbia, Augusta, Milledgeville, Macon and Colum- 
bus. In the meantime, the Appalachian region and the Mississippi 
valley were raised above sea-level and the continent took on some- 
what the same outline that it has to-day. From that time up to the 
present there have been periods of deposition on this eastern shore, 
but the material laid down upon it has not had time to become 
consolidated, and hence it consists largely of sand, gravel and clay. 
Such material weathers down much more rapidly than hard rocks, and 
hence the region east of the line mentioned above is generally much 
lower, has more subdued topography, and is in every way separate 
and distinct from the Piedmont Plateau. The belt of zone along which 
the sediments lap onto the old continental mass is known as the Fall 
line or Fall zone. This line or zone is marked generally by falls or 
rapids in the streams crossing it — hence the name, and this fact has 
been largely responsible for the location of so many cities at these 
points. 



NATURE'S GIFT TO MANKIND 153 

in late autumn. In March the feather-like leaves of the 
turkey-corn form dense irregular masses where the 
soil is rich and soft, and soon the queer-shaped white 
blossoms appear that give to the plant its colloquial 
name, Dutchman 's-breeches. The miniature tubers of 
.the root systems, responsible for the synonym turkey- 
corn, furnish the medicine-makers with some of the 
ingredients for their alterative mixtures, or what are 
better known as " blood purifiers." 

Following closely on the blossoming of the turkey- 
corn comes the beautiful pure white star-like blossoms 
of the sanguinaria, or bloodroot, famed for its efficacy 
in relieving the spasms of bronchitis and other forms 
of obstinate cough. Before the bloodroot passes, a 
yellow flower, seemingly out of place at this time of 
year, becomes conspicuous in the woodland. It is 
the golden ragwort or life-root, famous as a tonic and 
diuretic, which is sought for as an ingredient of some 
well known "female" remedies. This plant is closely 
related to the great group of asters and other species 
associated with the blossoms of the late summer and 
early autumn. The golden ragwort is the first of the 
order to blossom in the northern Piedmont. It is 
ahead of the advance-guard that appears with the riot 
of blooms filling the woods and meadows in May, and 
is therefore worthy of note, both on account of the 
hue of its petals and the conspicuous place it occupies 
in relation to other species flowering at this early date. 
Comes now the mandrake, filling the open glades with 
its five-lobed umbrellas, while in the cool shade of the 
northern slopes is found the inconspicuous Canada 



154 THE STORY OF DRUGS 

snakeroot, or wild ginger, whose aromatic root is a 
mild and pleasing tonic for the rebellious stomach. 

As the weeks go by, the two cohoshes, blue and black, 
develop their bushy growth. The latter sends up a 
long spike, often as high as a man, topped with a 
raceme of white feathery florets. The roots of both 
plants have valuable medicinal properties, being 
uterine stimulants and featuring in the composition of 
many "female" remedies and viburnum compounds. 
Black cohosh, also called macrotys, has attained con- 
siderable reputation in controlling St. Vitus 's dance 
and other disorder's of the nervous system. 

Early in May, on the rocky slopes, the beautiful 
fringe-bush puts forth its white drooping blooms, fill- 
ing the air with their perfume and rivaling the Japa- 
nese honeysuckle, which is also in blossom at the same 
period, in charging the atmosphere in the morning 
hush with layer upon layer of exquisite fragrance. 
The bark of the root possesses tonic properties of 
peculiar value to convalescents from exhaustive dis- 
eases. As spring wanes, the Indian hemp, useful in 
dropsy and Bright 's disease, and the orange milk- 
weed or pleurisy-root, stimulated by the rising tem- 
perature of early June, assert their presence, the 
former by the fence-row, the latter in the neglected 
fields. 

The profusion of color passes with the coming of 
midsummer; but the hot-weather flowers possess as 
much fascination to the drug student as do those of 
early spring. Now comes lobelia inflata or Indian 
tobacco, with its attenuated petals surmounting the 
little globular seed-pods. The leaves and tops fur- 



NATURE'S GIFT TO MANKIND 155 

nish a drug extensively used in asthma remedies. 
Jimson-weed, datura stramonium to the botanist, ap- 
pears with its rank growth along the edges of the 
woods and fields. The leaves of this plant also are em- 
ployed for asthma, besides being one of the sources of 
atropin, the indispensable ally of the oculist. In late 
summer boneset, useful in cases of cold and fever, with 
its peculiar perfoliate leaves and veil-like crowns of 
white, is conspicuous in the damp gullies and rich 
soil of the swamp borders. And in September lobelia 
syphilitica, blue, like the northern gentians, and the 
brilliant cardinal-flower, still another member of the 
lobelia group, tint the fading glory of the woods with 
their contrasting colors. 

So the sequence advances through the seasons. Vir- 
ginia bluebell, grape-hyacinth, blue phlox, sweet cicely, 
and dogtooth, blue, and white violets, canopied with 
flowering dogwood and red-bud, complement the set- 
ting in the early spring days, while the air is redolent 
with the perfume of the honey-locust blossom. Later 
comes wild valerian, chrysoganum, and prickly-pear, 
which is the Eastern representative of the cactus 
tribe, to be followed in midsummer by the milkweeds, 
butter-and-eggs, as well as the tall stalks of wild 
lettuce. Wild ipecac in the uncultivated uplands, the 
spurges, goat's-rue, and New York ironweed, con- 
spicuous with its bold heads of royal purple, character- 
ize the blooms of the waning summer, while the 
splashes of color amid the sumacs and Virginia creeper 
presage the approaching transformation of the wood- 
lands with the coming of the harvest season. 

A full realization of the significance of botanical 



156 THE STORY OF DRUGS 

drugs in their relation to the ills of humanity cannot 
be acquired solely by association with herbarium speci- 
mens, or the bales and bags of the warehouse. One 
must penetrate into their habitat and at leisure assume 
a speaking acquaintance with the living individu- 
als. It is only thus that there finally becomes mani- 
fest a confident appreciation of the part played by 
nature in providing the antidotes for the morbid 
afflictions of mankind for which he is also responsi- 
ble. 

There are many interesting features connected with 
the distribution of the producing localities of the 
common natural drugs. We have devoted some space 
to noting the species peculiar to the producing area in 
the southeastern district of the United States. Here 
originate many varieties that are in general use not 
only in this country, but all over the world, wherever 
medicines are manufactured. On the western coast, ex- 
tending its range into British Columbia, is found the 
cascara tree. This locality furnishes virtually all of 
the cascara bark that is incorporated into the thou- 
sands of laxative pills, tablets, and tonic mixtures 
featuring this important remedial agent. 

Balsam of Peru, a fragrant aromatic gum-resin, use- 
ful as a stimulating antiseptic for deep-seated coughs 
and catarrhal conditions, does not come from Peru, 
but from a spot on the western coast of Salvador. The 
tree yielding the balsam is one of the most beautiful 
of the tropical forest, often towering upward to more 
than one hundred feet in height. It begins to give 
up its sap when it is about twenty years old, three or 
four pounds of the thick liquid being collected each 



NATURE'S GIFT TO MANKIND 157 

season, and it continues to yield its annual tribute until 
the century mark is reached. 

In three spots on the globe, remotely separated from 
one another, are found three drugs differing in ap- 
pearance and chemical constituents, but used by the 
native population for purposes of a similar nature. 
These are the cola nut, coca leaf, and leaves and 
twigs of the pituri. The cola is an African product, 
coca originates in Peru and Bolivia, and pituri flour- 
ishes in Central Australia. They are taken by the 
inhabitants because of certain stimulating properties 
that enable the consumers to perform much labor and 
go long journeys with but little food. 

Coca is employed more extensively than all of the 
other stimulating drugs combined, estimates number- 
ing the users in South America as between eight and 
ten millions. The native Indian laborers consume, on 
the average, two to three ounces daily, masticating the 
leaves with a small quantity of lime, and seemingly 
with as great a relish as is enjoyed by the tobacco- 
chewers of the North. Indian foot messengers plying 
their tracks across the hazardous passages of the 
Andes will carry a pocket full of coca leaves, but no 
other form of nourishment. They will continue 
an uninterrupted course, often of three days' dura- 
tion, depending solely on the stimulus of the venerated 
coca. 

One of the most valuable of all the gifts of nature is 
the product of a tree growing in the almost inaccessible 
confines of Burma in British India. It is the sub- 
stance known as chaulmoogra oil, yielded by the seeds 
of a tree rejoicing in the name of Taraktogenos kurzii. 



158 THE STORY OF DRUGS 

Though this oil does not fall in the same class as such 
drugs as nux vomica or cinchona, remedial agents of 
a wide range of application, it has been found of great 
value in curing leprosy, and hence, in its own sphere 
of usefulness, possesses an importance of the highest 
degree. 

The fact that the oil of an Indian tree was prized 
as a remedy for leprosy has been known for centuries. 
The old Buddhist histories relate the legend of a Bur- 
mese king, voluntarily exiled for leprosy about one 
thousand years ago, who cured himself with this oil, 
and likewise effected the cure of a beautiful young 
woman whom he afterward married. But until a few 
years ago no white man had ever seen the tree yield- 
ing the seed in which the oil is contained. 

An extended investigation of the constituents of 
chaulmoogra oil and some related products was made 
several years ago by Dr. Frederick B. Power and his 
associates in the Wellcome Chemical Research Lab- 
oratories, London. This resulted in the isolation of 
two, crystalline, optically active, unsaturated acids of 
an entirely new type, which hitherto had not been 
found to occur in any fatty oil. These acids, which 
were designated respectively as chaulmoogric acid, 
and hydnocarpic acid, constitute what is now known 
as the chaulmoogric acid series. Numerous deriva- 
tives were made of the acids, including their ethyl 
esters. The latter have been used in recent years, in 
the form of intramuscular injections, in the treatment 
of leprosy with very remarkable results, and have 
been regarded by some as a specific in that disease. 
A full account of the above-mentioned investigations, 



NATURE'S GIFT TO MANKIND 159 

which occupied several years, will be found in the 
Transactions of the London Chemical Society, 1904 
to 1907. Since then chaulmoogra derivatives have 
been administered wherever the treatment of leprosy 
has been under systematic management, and in the 
Hawaiian colony more than two hundred cures have 
been effected. 

The natural consequence of this comparatively re- 
cent development of a method of treatment that has 
dozed along for a thousand years lias been a realization 
that some provision must be made for obtaining the 
raw material without the necessity of depending on 
the only supplies heretofore available. The native 
inhabitants collect the seeds according to the dic- 
tates of their desultory nature, and as the habitat of 
the trees is a country infested with tigers, bears, and 
all sorts of dangerous creatures, the former preying 
on the natives and the latter competing with them in 
gathering the mast, the uncertainty of sufficient mate- 
rial for preparing a normal quantity of the medicine 
is always a^ menace. 

Fortunately for the future unhappy sufferers of the 
dread malady, plans are now under way for establish- 
ing a plantation of the taraktogenos trees in the 
Hawaiian islands. One of the agricultural explorers 
of our government, Joseph Rock, has penetrated the 
all but impregnable jungle, and collected a sufficient 
quantity of the mature fruit to provide the nucleus 
for the future groves on which will depend the sup- 
plies of chaulmoogra oil needed for medicinal pur- 
poses. 

There are latent possibilities existing in many other 



160 THE STORY OF DRUGS 

drugs from natural sources. Certain of them are 
already under investigation by progressive workers in 
the fields of medicine and pharmacy. As an illustra- 
tion, we will cite the root of the ginseng, which from 
time immemorial has been a revered specific among 
the Orientals, though looked upon with derision by the 
advanced therapeutists of the Occident. It is an in- 
teresting anomaly that the consumers of the drugs de- 
pend for their supplies on a country having no respect 
for its efficacy. The natural supplies of China and 
Korea were inadequate to .satisfy the requirements of 
the population of these countries, who at last became 
dependent on the harvest of the native plantations, un- 
til it was discovered that in North America there were 
apparently inexhaustible quantities, thus averting the 
menacing ginseng famine. However, the exploitation 
of the American stock was greater than its ability for 
reproduction, so that by the end of a couple of centur- 
ies the famine again threatened. At the present time 
our exports of the drug consist, in the main, of culti- 
vated ginseng, the production of which was success- 
fully instituted and has been consistently followed for 
many years. 

A study of the constituents of the ginseng root was 
inaugurated by the scientists of Japan within the 
present decade. Thus far there has been reported the 
discovery of several chemical individuals, new to the 
scientific world, and which are evidently peculiar to 
the ginseng. Whether or not these new bodies repre- 
sent the reported virtues of the drug, and possess a 
potential significance that further experimentation will 
determine, is something for future revelation. 




CHATTLMOOGRA TREES GROWING IN BURMA 

Photographed by Joseph F. Rock. Courtesy and copyright by National Geographic Society, Washington, D. C. 




FRUITING BRANCH OF CHAULMOOGRA 



Photographed by Joseph F. Rock. Courtesy and copyright 
by National Geographic Society, Washington, D. C. 



FREDERICK B. POWER 







WILD GINGER OR CANADA SNAKE ROOT SANGUINARIA CANADENSIS OR BLOOD ROOT 




WILD DIGITALIS 



FLOURISHING CLUMP OF CYPRIPEDIUM 



NATURE'S GIFT TO MANKIND 161 

Work of this nature, that is, the chemical investi- 
gation of the constituents of drugs, has been fostered 
in recent years both at home and abroad, and conse- 
quently has resulted in a great advancement of our 
knowledge of the subject. In England this advance- 
ment is largely to be attributed to the scientific spirit 
and generosity of Mr. Henry S. Wellcome, who, as an 
American citizen in London, established about twenty- 
five years ago the chemical and the physiological 
research laboratories which bear his name. Dr. Fred- 
erick B. Power, also an American citizen, was ap- 
pointed in 1896 to undertake the organization and 
direction of the chemical research laboratories. It 
was while in this position, as already noted, that he 
and his associates undertook the chemical investiga- 
tion of chaulmoogra oil, and isolated therefrom the 
peculiar acids which represent its active constituents. 
Under his direction researches on the chemical com- 
position of many plants and plant products were con- 
ducted and a large number of new substances discov- 
ered. Among the important drugs studied there may 
be mentioned sarsaparilla, dandelion root, rhubarb, 
senna, jalap and scammony resins, colocynth, elater- 
ium, bryony root, hops, gelsemium, wild cherry bark, 
red clover and carnation clover flowers, "Yerba 
santa" (Eriodictyon) and "Yerba buena" (Microm- 
eria), grindelia, Culver's root (Leptandra), wahoo 
(Euonymus), blue cohosh (Caulophyllum) and the so- 
called Queensland asthma herb (Euphorbia pilulif- 
era), together with several essential oils. Through 
the work of Dr. Power and his associates many of the 
secrets locked in nature's vast storehouse have been 



162 THE STORY OF DRUGS 

disclosed and the advancement of phytochemical 
science has thus been markedly stimulated. 

One of the most striking examples of the peculiari- 
ties of nature in the distribution of plant species occurs 
in the case of santonica, or Levant wormseed, the drug 
yielding santonin. The plant is a species of artemisia, 
a genus embracing many thousands of varieties all 
closely related, but the Levant wormseed is the only 
one developing santonin, and its habitat is the lonely 
wastes of the Russian steppes and Turkestan. 

Santonin is an effective vermifuge, being surpassed 
by no other agent for removing the stomach and intes- 
tinal worms to which children especially are suscep- 
tible. Just prior to the beginning of the World War, 
its application was extended to the hog-raising in- 
dustry, which bade fair to appropriate even larger 
quantities of the drug than were needed for the relief 
of human ailments. It had been discovered that by 
administering a few doses of santonin, combined with 
calomel and bicarbonate of sodium, hogs, which under 
normal conditions support flourishing colonies of para- 
sites in their intestinal tracts, would be freed from 
these encumbrances. When thus treated hogs would 
show, at the time of slaughter, an increased weight over 
untreated hogs, all of the fat produced thus being 
available for human consumption in its entirety, and 
not in part, as formerly, to satiate the cravings of a 
host of hungry worms. 

Coincident with the opening of hostilities, the 
world's supply of santonin, the production of which 
was controlled by the Germans under concession from 
the Russian government, was suddenly shut off, and 



NATURE'S GIFT TO MANKIND 163 

the famine bade fair to have a marked influence on the 
price of breakfast bacon. For four years meager 
quantities of santonin leaked out into the trade, and 
its use was limited to those firms able to pay the en- 
hanced cost of the article, which was many times over 
and above the pre-war value. Subsequent to the 
Russian Revolution the forces of the Bolsheviki razed 
the isolated factories in the santonica fields, and thus 
an indispensable industry has been virtually anni- 
hilated. 

In connection with the story of santonica it will be 
of interest to recount an attempt that was made to 
develop its production as an American institution and 
thus to provide our industries with their necessary 
requirements. The agricultural explorers of our na- 
tional government, after many unsuccessful attempts 
to obtain a small supply of viable ^santonica seed, 
finally succeeded, in spite of apparently insurmount- 
able obstacles, in procuring a quantity sufficient to es- 
tablish a small garden -on one of the experimental 
farms. The bushy plants flourished under the gracious 
climatic conditions of our Western coast, apparently 
the designated locality for establishing the species in 
this country. The unexpanded flower-heads, which 
constitute the commercial drug, occurring in myriads 
on every bush, were found to be rich in santonin, and 
in every respect equaled or surpassed the Levant 
worm-seed as it was known to the trade before the 
war. It is a peculiar provision of nature that the ac- 
tive constituent of this drug reaches the height of its 
development almost solely in the buds, and disappears 
when the flower bursts into bloom. 



164 THE STORY OF DRUGS 

The fact that the plant adapted itself so readily to 
our climate and soil conditions inspired the hope that 
here was the nucleus of a new American industry. It 
was of sufficient importance before the war to induce 
the enterprising Germans to penetrate many leagues 
into the wilderness, establish their factories under the 
most discouraging conditions, import the materials re- 
quired for extracting and purifying the santonin, and 
adopt every possible precaution to prevent the evasion 
of viable seed that might enable others outside of 
their jurisdiction to produce the santonin. A further 
inducement .seemed apparent, since the industry had 
been virtually destroyed through the razing of the 
manufacturing properties. The investigators of the 
government and other scientists, appreciating the 
possibilities of the situation of possessing virtually the 
only available means of reestablishing the .santonin 
supplies of the world, were hopeful that American 
enterprise would visualize its significance and pro- 
mote the ways and means for developing a new na- 
tional institution. However, it would appear that our 
British cousins, who operate under a national policy 
perhaps a little more appreciative of the import and 
generous in the aid and support of new projects, will 
eventually take over the propagation of santonica, and 
manufacture the santonin used in the medicine and 
packing industries. America's disregard will be 
Great Britain's gain, and we can feel a sense of grati- 
fication that our own race will figure in the consumma- 
tion of the project. 

Stories without number might be recalled, featur- 



NATUBE'S GIFT TO MANKIND 165 

ing the evolvements of nature through the ages since 
plant life first began to perpetuate itself, as well as 
their application to the relief of the many ailments 
with which savage and civilized man has been, and 
still is, subject. The unlocking of mysteries is a fas- 
cination to the biologist, the chemist, and the physi- 
ologist. Medical science strives to prevent disease as 
much as it aims to relieve the pathological conditions 
when once they are established. The employment for 
this purpo.se of agents created by natural processes 
in the metabolism of the vast and varied botanic life 
of the world almost surpasses realization. It is an 
acknowledgment of the dependence of mankind and 
his appreciation of the resources of the herbal world. 



CHAPTER VIII 

VACCINES AND SERUM-THERAPY 

Some confusion exists in the mind of the average 
man and woman concerning the meaning of the terms 
' ' vaccine ' ' and ' ' serum. ' ' There is no misunderstand- 
ing about what is meant when the allusion is to small- 
pox vaccine, but serum appears to have a vaguer 
meaning, and the word is often misapplied. We speak 
of taking the serum treatment for hay fever and for 
typhoid, when actually we are inoculated with a form 
of vaccine in order to be made immune from attacks of 
these maladies. 

In a broad sense, vaccines are used as prophylactics 
and are applied before the onset of the disease that 
they are intended to antagonize. Serums are used for 
combating a condition that is already established. 

By vaccine treatment we subject a person to an at- 
tenuated or mild form of the disease, or to one that 
is closely allied to it. When we give a serum, it is for 
the purpose of supplying an antitoxin to destroy the 
toxins or poisonous substances with which the system 
has become charged through the action of the dis- 
ease with which the patient is suffering. 

Contiguous with the general advance in medicine 
and pharmacy in the present century, many special 
types of vaccines have been developed, some of which 

166 



VACCINES AND SERUM-THERAPY 167 

are actually combinations of prophylactic agents and 
antitoxins ; but this discussion will be confined largely 
to the simpler forms that have been noted. 

Vaccines have been used for more than one hundred 
and twenty years, but serum-therapy, or the employ- 
ment of antitoxfns, is a comparatively recent institu- 
tion, having its origin in 1894. 

The use of vaccine as a prophylactic against small- 
pox was established by Edward Jenner, an English 
physician. His researches were undertaken to deter- 
mine whether or not there was any truth in the belief 
of the English peasants that accidental cowpox (ac- 
quired by milking a cow) was a preventive of smallpox. 
A similar belief, current at the same time, was that the 
carrying of a cowpox scab in the clothing would dis- 
pel the disease. Jenner 's discoveries left no doubt of 
the reason for this belief, as it is quite probable that 
the person became unwittingly inoculated or, as it is 
now termed, vaccinated. 

Jenner 's work proved beyond question that by pro- 
ducing cowpox the subject became immune to small- 
pox. The practice of vaccination has spread all over 
the world since his day, and is now universally em- 
ployed in all civilized countries. 

In the old days the practice consisted in inoculating 
with the discarded crust of a patient who had been 
successfully vaccinated, or by transferring to the sub- 
ject a bit of lymph from a person who was undergoing 
a successful vaccination. The operation was any- 
thing but sanitary. Evil results often obtained, and 
no doubt many people died as a result of the treat- 
ment. These unfortunate circumstances incited a 



168 THE STORY OF DRUGS 

spirit of hostility, and a cult of anti-vaccinationists 
sprang into existence and has continued to this day. 
But all meritorious movements are beset by an anti- 
faction of some sort or other, and when it became ap- 
parent that soon after a country adopted compulsory 
vaccination the epidemics and deaths from smallpox 
diminished to the vanishing-point, the howls of the 
antis were treated with little concern. 

After the manufacture of medicines was divorced 
from the corner drug-store in the middle of the nine- 
teenth century, and the pharmaceutical houses had 
become established on a substantial basis, it was sug- 
gested that vaccines might be produced commercially 
on a large scale. The importance of sanitation in the 
manufacture and use of these substances was recog- 
nized, and production under expert control and care- 
fully observed conditions was the answer. The re- 
finement in the methods of preparing these specialties 
have been due to the efforts of such firms as Parke, 
Davis & Company, Eli Lilly & Company, H. K. Mulford 
Company, and E. R. Squibb & Sons. 

Smallpox vaccine is produced by inducing a healthy 
case of cowpox and removing the lymph when the dis- 
ease is well established. Heifers and young cows are 
the animated medicine factories. The animals are re- 
ceived at the vaccine station, where they are given a 
careful physical examination by competent veterina- 
rians. If there is any suspicion of disease the animal 
is rejected. Tuberculosis and foot-and-mouth disease 
are especially looked for. At a modern vaccine plant 
the cattle receive the best of care on a farm maintained 
with every appurtenance for their peace and comfort, 




EDWARD JENNER 

Who established the use of vaccine as a 
prophylactic against smallpox 




HOUSING ON A MODERN VACCINE FARM 




Preparing a Heifer for Inoculation 



111 i 




Vaccinating a Calf with Cow Pc 




Removing the Virus 
THE MANUFACTURE OF VACCINE 



VACCINES AND SERUM-THEEAPY 169 

and if any one has visited the beautiful farm at 
Glenolden operated by Mulford, or Lilly's well kept 
institution just outside Indianapolis, and an outstand- 
ing feature on the landscape as seen from the Pennsyl- 
vania Pullman, he will agree that the trite phrase 
"from contented cows' ' may well be applied to the 
lymph that is yielded by their animals. 

After a period in which the animals become thor- 
oughly at home, they are taken to the operating-room. 
Here the surroundings are as clean and as aseptic 
as will be found in any hospital of the highest repute. 
The attendants are dressed immaculately in white 
garments, and the accessories necessary for the work 
are all carefully sterilized. The animal is subjected 
to the restraint necessary for the operation, slung on 
a large operating-table, and inverted so that the ab- 
domen may be cleansed and shaved. Then, by dex- 
terious manipulation, the virus of the cowpox is in- 
oculated on the field of growth, the animal restored to 
a standing posture, released, and led away to an in- 
dividual stall. Neatness and cleanliness are the watch- 
words in the stables where the cattle remain during 
the incubation period. The floors, and often the 
walls, are of cement, and the stanchions and fasten- 
ings of enameled metal. Filth of no kind is tolerated, 
and, with constant flushings and the liberal use of anti- 
septics, the danger of contamination is kept at a 
minimum. 

When an examination shows that a typical case of 
cowpox is well established, and the abdomen is cov- 
ered with a liberal sprinkling of healthy " takes,' ' the 
animal is brought back to the operating-room, again 



170 THE STORY OF DRUGS 

subjected to restraint, and the lymph removed. In a 
large plant the operations are progressing all the time ; 
fresh cows are being inoculated, others are giving up 
their virus. 

The collected lymph is then examined bacterio- 
logically to determine its purity and freedom from pos- 
sible contaminating organisms. When its good qual- 
ity has been established, it is mixed with the proper 
ingredients, including glycerin, which acts as a pre- 
servative, and then introduced into the little tubes, 
or by dipping transferred to the sharp bone or ivory 
points. 

When the cattle have served their purpose as propa- 
gating mediums, they are turned out to pasture for a 
time, and when fully recovered go into the market 
again. Accessions are constantly being received, and 
altogether the handling of the animals resembles the 
operations of a miniature stockyard. It is all done 
under the supervision of federal inspectors and by 
virtue of government license. 

Smallpox vaccine is really an attenuated living 
virus. Of similar character is anti-rabic vaccine, 
which has been used with considerable success as a 
prophylactic against hydrophobia. By treatment with 
this remedy after the bite of a rabid animal, immun- 
ity is usually established before the incubation period 
of the disease is concluded. The virus is prepared 
by inoculation of rabbits, by progressive treatment 
whereby the virus is passed from one rabbit to another 
and becomes virtually non-virulent for human beings. 
The spinal cords of the infected rabbits are dried and 
preserved with glycerin. When an application is to be 



VACCINES AND SERUM-THERAPY 171 

made, a piece of the preserved cord is shaken up with 
a sterile weak solution of common salt, and injected 
into the tissues under the skin over the abdomen. 
This is what is commonly known as the Pasteur treat- 
ment. The idea had its origin with this great investi- 
gator, and the process of manufacture, as described 
above, was worked out by him. 

Autogenous or bacterial vaccines, which have come 
into prominence in the past few years, are suspensions 
of killed bacteria in salt solution, preserved with some 
antiseptic agent like carbolic acid. The best results 
have been obtained with the particular strain of bacte- 
ria at work in the patient on whom it is proposed to 
apply the treatment. For instance, if one is suffering 
from a chronic condition, and the discharges are ac- 
companied by some pathogenic bacterium, a pure 
culture of the organism is obtained and allowed to 
produce many billions of its kind in the proper 
medium. After a period of growth a count is made, 
the bacteria killed by immersing the tube in hot 
water, and then mixed with the proper quantity of salt 
solution. These solutions are adjusted so that the 
physician can inject five, ten, fifty, or as many million 
bacteria as he deems proper at a dose. Stock vaccines 
of this nature are prepared for general use, and as a 
representative of the general class the typhoid vac- 
cine has proved of great value. How beneficial are the 
results of inoculation against typhoid are apparent 
to those of us who recall the condition of our troops 
when they returned from the Santiago campaign 
ravaged with disease. In marked contrast to this was 
the practical absence of typhoid among the soldiers 



172 THE STORY OF DKUGS 

in the World War, due to the universal use of the pro- 
tective vaccine. 

The popularly termed serum treatment for hay fever 
is not a serum treatment at all. Neither is it, strictly 
speaking, a vaccine inoculation. In theory the treat- 
ment consists of a prophylaxis or immunization 
against the action on the system of the pollen of cer- 
tain plants; but the agents employed do not contain 
attenuated or dead microorganisms, which are charac- 
teristic of true vaccines. Hay-fever conditions are 
brought about by the action of certain substances 
known as toxalbumins on the mucous membrane of the 
eyes and nasal passages. These toxalbumins contain 
nitrogen, and are probably related to the proteins. 
They are present in the pollen of many plants, and dur- 
ing the flowering period, when the minute particles of 
pollen fill the atmosphere, a susceptible person suffers 
from hay fever. Some people react to the pollen of the 
pine-tree, some to the rose, others to that of various 
grasses, goldenrod, and ragweed. 

The immunization treatment consists in the injec- 
tion of gradually increasing doses of an extract made 
from the pollen grains. The plants employed are col- 
lected just before the flowers are full blown, nursed 
into bloom, and the pollen allowed to fall on clean cloth 
or paper. A sufficient amount is dried, ground up in 
a ball-mill to destroy the cell membrane, treated with 
a solution of salt, which dissolves the albuminous sub- 
stances, concentrated, and purified. The active sub- 
stances are then dissolved in sterile salt solution and 
are ready for use. 

True serums or antitoxins differ entirely, in their 



VACCINES AND SERUM-THERAPY 173 

character and mode of action, from vaccines. Animals 
are used for preparing them, but the products obtained 
do not contain attenuated living organisms, nor do 
they consist of suspensions of dead bacteria. 

When certain pathogenic or disease-producing 
bacteria, such as the germs of diphtheria or lockjaw, 
grow in a favorable medium, they excrete poisonous 
substances called toxins. If the bacteria are growing 
in the blood of a human being, the toxins produced 
bring about the disturbances in the system that charac- 
terize the disease. Thus the toxin of the diphtheria 
bacillus and those of the lockjaw organism are the 
causes of the symptoms accompanying these baneful 
maladies. 

It is a wonderful provision of nature that, when the 
system is invaded by a disease-producing bacterium, it 
tends to develop antitoxins to combat, and if possible 
neutralize, the effect of the toxins generated by the 
invading body. If the patient is of sufficiently robust 
constitution and responds to the aid of sustaining reme- 
dies, the antitoxin will eventually conquer, and re- 
covery will take place. Often, however, in the case of 
diphtheria, and usually in the case of lockjaw, the 
virulence of the toxic substances overcomes the anti- 
toxin naturally generated, and disastrous results fol- 
low. Hence, if at the onset of a case it is possible to 
provide the system with an antitoxin from an outside 
source, there is much greater likelihood of recovery. 
This, in a nutshell, is the theory of serum-therapy. 
Experience has shown that it rests on an unassailable 
foundation. 

The practical use of antitoxin was developed by 



174 THE STORY OF DRUGS 

German bacteriologists, particularly Dr. Behring, and 
it was introduced to the medical profession in 1894. 
It is now universally employed wherever diphtheria 
prevails. The death-rate from the disease has been 
enormously decreased through its use, and, if properly 
diagnosed in the early stages, the duration of a case 
may be markedly curtailed, and much of the attendant 
dangers eliminated, if antitoxin is applied immediately. 

The production of diphtheria antitoxin is one of the 
most interesting processes of the manufacturing medi- 
cine industry. Horses are employed as propagating 
mediums. They are selected with due regard to their 
soundness and youth, and are usually heavy-set ani- 
mals of the cob type. Before being treated they are 
kept under careful observation for a period, and when 
they have been given a clean bill of health by the 
veterinarian, they are taken to the biological stables. 
Here they are carefully groomed and fed, and close 
observation is kept of their physical condition to 
guard against occurrence of illness of any kind. The 
stables are kept as immaculately as are those housing 
the cattle used for producing vaccine. They are pro- 
vided with an abundance of light and fresh air and a 
perfect system of drainage. 

In the beginning of the process pure cultures of the 
diphtheria bacillus are planted in large flasks of sterile 
bouillon. The flasks are placed in an incubation oven 
at a temperature of about that of the human body. 
The bouillon is the soil on which the germs thrive. 
They multiply rapidly, giving off their virulent toxin, 
which passes into solution in the liquid. When suffi- 
ciently charged with toxin the bouillon is filtered, 



VACCINES AND SEBUM-THERAPY 175 

first through paper, then through unglazed porcelain, 
in order to remove all of the bacteria. The strength 
of the toxin solution, which is now devoid of the 
germs, is ascertained by physiological tests on guinea- 
pigs, and it is then ready for injection into the horses. 

The initial doses of toxin are necessarily small, and 
the response of the animals is carefully noted. There 
is usually a rise in temperature for a day or two, with 
perhaps some other manifestations of discomfort. As 
soon as normal conditions are restored, doses of gradu- 
ally increasing amounts are given, until finally as 
much as a pint or more of the toxin solution can be 
injected without noticeable effect. When this point 
is reached the horses are known to be immune to the 
toxin. They are then practically animated antitoxin 
factories, and are ready to give up their serum. 

In order to abstract the blood, a sterile instrument, 
called a cannula, is passed into the jugular vein. The 
blood is collected in large tubes, which are closed with 
sterile cotton and set aside until the clot separates. A 
quart or more is usually taken at a time. Blood con- 
sists of myriads of corpuscles distributed throughout 
a liquid that is designated in biological lore as serum. 
On standing, the corpuscles gradually collect together, 
or, as it is termed, clot. They separate in a dense 
dark-red mass, and squeeze out the pale-yellowish 
serum which remains as a limpid fluid. 

When the separation of the serum and clot is com- 
plete, the former is drawn off into sterilized flasks, 
and a preservative, usually a weak solution of a sub- 
stance called cresol, closely allied to carbolic acid, 
is added. The serum or antitoxin is then filtered and 



176 THE STORY OF DRUGS 

placed in cold-storage until it is ready to be prepared 
for the market. 

Before being introduced into the hermetically sealed 
glass tubes, the serum is tested in order to determine 
how many " units' ' of antitoxin it contains. A unit 
is that quantity of antitoxin that will so far neutralize 
100 lethal doses of toxin for a guinea-pig weighing a 
little less than half a pound, that the animal continues 
to live on the fifth day after the injection. A lethal 
dose of the toxin is the smallest quantity that will kill 
a guinea-pig of the same weight on the fifth day. 

Antitoxins for use in combating other diseases are 
prepared in the same way. The antitetanic or lockjaw 
serum was the first antitoxic serum produced, but it 
has not come into such universal use as has diphtheria 
antitoxin. Lockjaw results from the entrance of the 
microbe into the system through a wound sustained 
by rough contact with the soil or something that has 
been resting in the dirt, such as a rusty nail or splinter. 
The presence of the disease is seldom manifested until 
the tetanic symptoms appear. The toxin is slow to 
form, but it is tremendously potent, and by the time 
the unfortunate sufferer realizes his condition it is 
usually too late for the antitoxin to have any beneficial 
action. For this reason, the serum treatment has been 
less successful than in the case of diphtheria. How- 
ever, if the antitoxin is applied immediately on ex- 
posure, the danger may be averted, though, of course, 
the patient will not always be sure that an infection 
has occurred. It is the practice now to inject lockjaw 
antitoxin whenever an accident case is treated, when 
the appearance of the wound indicates the possibility 










■ 



j 



i 



i 



- 




SEPARATING THE SERUM FROM THE BLOOD CORPUSCLES 




BOTTLES OF ANTITOXIN 




FILLING THE ANTITOXIN SYRINGES 



r - r - 




Injecting the Horse with Toxin 




Drawing off the Antitoxic Blood 
THE MANUFACTURE OF ANTITOXIN 



VACCINES AND SERUM-THERAPY 177 

of the dangerous infection of the tetanus microbe. 

Antitoxins are used to some extent in the treatment 
of typhoid fever, pneumonia, and tuberculosis. The 
principle of the antitoxin treatment is used for neutra- 
lizing the venom of poisonous snakes, and an anti- 
venom serum is now prepared commercially on a con- 
siderable scale. The venom of the rattlesnake, cobra, 
and other poisonous reptiles consists in large part of 
complex nitrogenous substances that resemble in their 
action the toxins produced by the pathogenic micro- 
organisms of diphtheria and lockjaw. When the 
venom is introduced into horses it produces the same 
effects as are obtained when the toxins are injected. 
The animals react, eventually recover, and can sustain 
larger and larger doses of the venom. In time they 
become just as immune to the reptile poisons as they 
do to the bacterial toxins. The blood can then be 
drawn off, the serum collected, and the antivenom 
serum prepared for the market, precisely as in the case 
of the antitoxins. 

The successful manufacture of vaccines and anti- 
toxins demands the employment of highly specialized 
talent. The responsibility attendant to the operations 
is exacting. It can be accomplished satisfactorily 
only by those firms that can afford to carry an enor- 
mous overhead and stand the losses that occur every 
year in handling these extremely delicate commodities. 
Vaccines and serums are marketed with a time-limit 
guaranty, and if not sold at the expiration of that 
period are usually replaced by fresh stock, which, of 
course, is an added potential expense borne by the 
manufacturer. 



178 THE STORY OF DKUGS 

Eecent legislation has placed the entire industry un- 
der the supervision of the National Public Health 
Service, and any firm desiring to manufacture these 
products must satisfy the requirements of the govern- 
ment with respect to its responsibility. It may then 
operate under a federal license, and its entire equip- 
ment is subject to regular inspection. 

The story of antitoxins is analogous in some respects 
to the story of electricity. We are familiar with the 
effects of electrical energy; we can control it and make 
it do anything we wish, but we do not know what elec- 
tricity is. Similarly, we know what antitoxins will 
do, but we do not know what they are. The investi- 
gations of the future will be concerned with the separa- 
tion and determination of the chemical nature of these 
bodies. When their make-up has been definitely es- 
tablished, we shall know whether or not they are 
simple substances that can be prepared by the reactions 
of the chemical laboratory, and, if they can, the inani- 
mate implements and reagents of the manufacturing 
plant no doubt will be called into use to take the place 
of the herds of patient animals that annually yield 
up their blood to aid the cause of humanity. The 
substances that neutralize the toxins of diphtheria and 
lockjaw probably are just as definite in their chemical 
individuality as are the simple alkalis that neutralize 
the pungent and corroding acids. The establishment 
of antitoxins as permanent remedial agents was a 
wonderful accomplishment. In the not far distant 
future some great name will establish their identity 
and point the way to their synthesis by purely chemi- 
cal means. 



CHAPTER IX 

IN THE SPIRIT WORLD OF MEDICINE: VITAMINES 

When Dr. Wiley was autocrat of the breakfast-table, 
the festive calory was the unit on which the nation's 
meal-ticket was based. Dietetics revolved about this 
subtle factor of energy that differentiated between a 
well balanced and a deficient ration. Happy was the 
firm whose breakfast food showed a high calorific 
value of whole grains, nuts, and the like, rich in car- 
bohydrates, protein, and fat; while fresh fruits and 
vegetables were tolerated more for the variety they 
gave to the diet than because of any great nutritive 
merit they possessed. 

During the reign of the calory, foods were judged 
by their capacity to produce heat, this being con- 
sidered a measure of the energy they were capable of 
furnishing. The non-scientist let it go at that; so did 
most of the scientific fraternity; but the question was 
sometimes raised as to whether production of energy 
and nutrition, or capacity to build up the tissues of 
the body, were one and the same thing. As one made 
a critical study of foods and observed their compara- 
tive effects on the health and physical growth, it 
seemed as if sometimes the calory were getting more 
credit than it deserved. 

What is a calory? It has been a favorite term in 

179 



180 THE STORY OF DRUGS 

the language of the food technologist for a generation, 
and the leaders in the debates of the local welfare 
societies all over the country have shown a familiarity 
with it, surpassed perhaps only by the humdrum serv- 
ant problem or the social evil. The calory is a unit of 
measure of heat-energy, just as the foot is a unit of 
length and the pound a unit of weight. It is itself in- 
tangible, but what it measures is tangible. It was first 
used to measure the fuel value of coal, and when the 
physicists got to the point of promulgating standards 
for calculating heat energy, they reduced everything 
to the metric system, providing that the unit should 
be called a calory, the amount of heat required to raise 
the temperature of one gram of water one degree on 
the centigrade scale. The business of buying and sell- 
ing coal and other fuels has since that time been based 
largely on the analysis of the products, and on the 
fuel or calorific value that they possess, for there is a 
great variation among different grades of the same 
commodity. 

The above definition applies to what we call the 
small calory. In comparing the values of food mate- 
rials the large calory is usually employed — a unit that 
is one thousand times as great as the small calory, or 
the heat required to raise a kilogram (two and two 
tenths pounds) of water one degree centigrade. 

Of course, by this process of calculation it is assumed 
that the amount of heat expressed in calories is equiv- 
alent to the energy that the body could obtain from a 
given weight of food material. The food value, fuel 
value, or, as it is sometimes called, the heat of com- 
bustion, may be determined experimentally with a 






IN THE SPIRIT WORLD OF MEDICINE 181 

calorimeter, or it may be calculated by means of 
factors, based on the result of many experiments, show- 
ing the average values for fats, carbohydrates, and 
proteins. According to these factors, the amount of 
energy in one gram of each of these classes of food 
materials is 9.3 for fats, and 4.1 each for carbohydrates 
and proteins. Expressed in pounds, each pound of fat 
has a fuel value of 4220 calories; each pound of carbo- 
hydrates or protein, 1860 calories. 

The estimation of the fuel value by means of the 
calorimeter is an exacting process. The apparatus 
consists of a cylindrical-shaped bomb lined with gold 
or platinum, adapted to hold the sample, and contain- 
ing oxygen gas under pressure. The bomb is im- 
mersed in water contained in a metal cylinder, which is 
in turn placed inside of concentric cylinders containing 
alternately air and water. For measuring the heat 
developed, a delicate thermometer, graduated to one 
hundredth of a degree, is suspended in the water sur- 
rounding the bomb. When all is ready, an electric 
current is passed through wires to the interior of the 
bomb, where, as a result of the cleverly devised mech- 
anism, a spark ignites the sample, causing complete 
combustion of all the burnable ingredients in the atmo- 
sphere of oxygen. The rise in temperature is noted 
from the thermometer, and from the data thus ob- 
tained the food value is calculated. 

So, when the science of food technology reached the 
point where food values were studied, it was decided 
that, as our foods were burned up, so to speak, inside 
our bodies, their worth or worthlessness could be as- 
certained by the same criterion that was employed 



182 THE STORY OF DRUGS 

in judging whether a grade of coal from West Virginia 
were better than one from Pennsylvania. 

Scientific work has become so specialized in the 
past quarter of a century that each branch requires 
the almost undivided attention of those specialists who 
have chosen that particular field of activity, while the 
workers in each field are probably numerically greater 
than the entire scientific fraternity of a century ago. 
The professional roster of the branch of food tech- 
nology and nutrition is a lengthy one. The investiga- 
tions have been deep and exhaustive, and the studies 
of nutrition by McCollum of Johns Hopkins, and by 
Osborne and Mendel of Yale, developed the surprising 
fact that foods of approximately similar calorific value 
and total content of carbohydrates, fat, and protein 
showed a great variation in their ability to maintain 
life and promote growth. Some food-stuffs produced 
results in growth and development of healthy tissue 
out of all proportion to that produced on the basis of 
the calorific estimate. The calory's right to suprem- 
acy was being challenged; a mysterious, subtle spirit 
was functioning, working tangibly, but itself as yet 
intangible, destined in a few short years to assert its 
potent influence throughout the entire field of food 
economics, and in medicine to indicate the rational 
treatment of the dreaded diseases pellagra, beri-beri, 
and scurvy. 

It was recognized in 1897 by Eykman that there was 
something in the outer coating of the rice kernel, re- 
moved in polishing the grain, that had a beneficial 
action on the neuritis of chickens fed on a diet of 
polished rice. Ten years later Fraser and Stanton in 



IN THE SPIRIT WORLD OF MEDICINE 183 

the Philippines, experimenting with an alcoholic solu- 
tion of these polishings, demonstrated that it would 
cure neuritis induced by the same means. 

Casimir Funk was the first to perceive the signifi- 
cant fact that the diseases of malnutrition were due to 
a lack of some element. His thesis carried the idea 
that theretofore disease had been attributed to the 
addition of something foreign to the system. It was 
an additive condition. But here were conditions 
caused by the lack of something vital. In contrast to 
the majority of pathological manifestations, the mal- 
nutrition diseases were due, not to additive agents, 
bacteria, parasites, or contagia, but to a want of 
certain essential elements required by the system to 
maintain a condition of perfect health. He experi- 
mented with rice polishings and yeast, found that both 
substances acted favorably on neuritis in birds and on 
beri-beri in man; and in 1911 he called the essential 
elements "vitamines." 

It was the search for the cause of beri-beri that 
brought about the discovery of vitamines. This in- 
sidious disease has been the scourge of the Orient since 
remote antiquity. It appears to exist in several forms 
not yet fully differentiated, but apparently belonging 
to the same group. It is primarily a disorganization 
of the nervous system featured by a so-called poly- 
neuritis, swelling of the lower limbs and a weak heart 
action. Some forms exhibit symptoms often accom- 
panying scurvy, another malady that for years has 
been surrounded by mystery. The damage to the 
nervous system caused by beri-beri is often so severe 
that, even if the sufferer recovers, he lives the life of 



184 THE STORY OF DRUGS 

a partial paralytic. Sometimes the disease may be so 
acute that it is fatal within a few days; again, it may 
develop into a chronic course. 

The fact that beri-beri is most prevalent among the 
populations that subsist chiefly on a diet of rice di- 
rected the attention of Occidental investigators to a 
study of the problem from that angle shortly after the 
Spanish war, when our country became an active fac- 
tor in Eastern affairs. The occurrence of the disease 
was attributed to the eating of polished rice, though 
the reasons were not clear. It was soon manifestly 
patent that, given a diet of whole rice, there was no 
beri-beri. This was an advance in the solution of the 
problem, and the discovery was important enough to 
warrant the consideration of the Medical Corps of our 
army, then campaigning in the Philippines, which 
promptly gave orders that when rations of rice were 
dispensed to the soldiers, the meal should always in- 
clude an equivalent amount of the polishings. 

At this point it is in order to explain how rice is 
prepared for the trade. Rice is a grain with a kernel 
and husk, and resembles wheat or rye or oats when 
threshed. Covering the kernel is a closely adhering 
skin, called the pericarp, dark in color, which from 
time immemorial has been removed by some abrasive 
method. The rice kernel, thus denuded of its immedi- 
ate outer covering, becomes attractive to the eye, with 
its pearly color and luster, and is preferred by the 
consumer to the rather unsightly unpolished grain. 

When it was observed that a combination diet of 
rice and its polishings was antagonistic to the onset of 
beri-beri, the next step was to place the investigations 



IN THE SPIRIT WORLD OF MEDICINE 185 

on a laboratory basis. The subjects for this work were 
naturally domestic fowl and pigeons, due to their 
graminiverous tendencies, to which a diet of rice was 
simply a substitution in place of corn and wheat. 
The birds, when fed exclusively on polished rice, soon 
develop typical cases of poly-neuritis, to which they 
rapidly succumb if not treated in time. The first mani- 
festation is a loss in weight, soon accompanied by a 
languidness and general malaise. As the severity of 
the condition progresses, the limbs begin to weaken, 
until finally they cease to render any support at all. 
Complete inertia then results, which is the final stage 
of the disease. And right here the miracle occurs; 
for if these birds, apparently at the point of death, 
are made to take a dose of rice polishings or an alcho- 
holic extract of the pericarp, resuscitation occurs as 
if by magic, and within a short space of time they re- 
vive sufficiently to walk around, so that by the next 
day or so they will be back on their perches, enjoying 
a hearty meal, as if nothing had happened. 

When it became apparent that this wonderful phe- 
nomenon was not an accident that happened now and 
then, but an unfailing influence that could be relied 
upon when the experiments were repeated over and 
over again, the desire to isolate the active agent be- 
came keen. Enthusiastic investigators entered the 
field and the activity became widespread. After 
Casimir Funk had coined the name "vitamine," and 
demonstrated that the same antineuritic effects existed 
in yeast that were demonstrated by rice polishings, 
Seidell instituted a series of researches in the hope of 
obtaining a relatively concentrated form of this inter- 



186 THE STORY OF DRUGS 

esting substance, whatever it was. In all the attempts 
that previously had been made to isolate vitamines in 
sufficient quantities for experimental studies, only 
very small yields had been obtained, due no doubt to 
the destruction of the physiologically active substances 
in the various steps of the manipulation. 

Seidell used brewer's yeast for the basis of his ex- 
periments. When this substance, as it comes from the 
brewery, is incubated at a temperature of about 100° 
Fahrenheit for two days, it is converted into a thick 
puree, or, in the language of the chemist, autolyzed. 
A dark red-brown, relatively clear liquid can be 
filtered away from the insoluble matter, and this is 
exceedingly rich in vitamines and has good keeping 
qualities. If a pigeon is kept on a polished rice diet, 
without the yeast filtrate, it begins to lose weight in 
about five days, and will die with a typical paralysis 
of poly-neuritis within three week's. But if fifteen 
drops of yeast "filtrate are given to completely para- 
lyzed pigeons, a relief of the paralysis will occur 
within an hour, and to all outward appearances the 
pigeon will be restored to a normal condition within 
twelve hours. 

Seidell realized that, though this yeast liquor was 
swimming with vitamines, when compared with other 
vitamine-containing substances, it was not sufficiently 
strong in its restorative powers for practical use as a 
medicine in treating cases of malnutrition diseases. 
He set about to find a way to concentrate these mys- 
terious bodies, and finally hit upon a very ingenious 
process, which yielded not only a highly active but a 



IN THE SPIRIT WORLD OF MEDICINE 187 

permanently stable product. His method was very 
simple, being based on some observations previously 
announced by John Uri Lloyd. The latter, who is 
now one of our venerated patria/chs in the profession 
of pharmacy and medicine, has made many discoveries 
of importance and practical value, one of which was 
that special forms of clay possessed the property of 
selective adsorption of alkaloids from complex -mix- 
tures. On separating the clay from the bulk of the 
mixture the alkaloids were retained and could be re- 
covered in a remarkably pure condition. Alkaloids, 
as we have noted in an earlier chapter, are complex 
organic bodies consisting of carbon, hydrogen, nitro- 
gen, and usually oxygen. Nitrogen is always a charac- 
teristic element. Representative of the group are 
quinin, morphin, and strychnin. 

Seidell had gathered the idea that vitamines were 
perhaps nitrogen-containing substances, and would 
perhaps act on Professor Lloyd's clay after the man- 
ner of the alkaloids. So he tested out his theory, and 
found that, by agitating the yeast nitrate in the pres- 
ence of the clay, he could remove all of the vitamines 
from the solution. He was able to get a product four 
times as strong in vitamines as the yeast liquor. 

Both preventive and curative experiments on pi- 
geons have been made with this material, and the re- 
sults agree with those made with the .solution. It has 
been found that prompt and effective cures of com- 
pletely paralyzed pigeons result from % -gram doses 
of the activated solid. Preventive experiments, con- 
tinued for more than a month, using %o of a gram on 



188 THE STORY OF DEUGS 

alternate days, showed that the pigeon retains its nor- 
mal health and weight on an exclusive diet of polished 
rice. 

The possibilities of this activated solid as a remedial 
agent for treating diseases of malnutrition must be 
apparent to anyone. Its advent is one of the high 
points in vitamine history. Being a permanent sub- 
stance and easy to manipulate, it can be introduced 
into gelatin capsules or molded in the form of tablets, 
thus providing a concentrated form of the life-giving 
agents, which the physician can administer in any 
dosage he desires. It can be mixed with malted milk 
or any other special food for the chrome invalid or 
the convalescent. Being virtually tasteless and not 
unpalatable, it can be included with the daily ration 
and fed to anemic children. To the indigent popula- 
tion of our Southern districts, where pellagra is prev- 
alent, its use as a preventive and cure of the insidious 
malady should prove of incalculable value. Its po- 
tency may be determined by laboratory methods, and 
altogether it furnishes the most dependable means of 
supplying vitamines wherever the indications point 
to their need in cases of illness. Seidell patented his 
process and then gave the invention to the public. 

The vital principle obtained from yeast and rice 
polishings is only one of the group to which the name 
vitamines has been given. It is called * ' water-soluble 
B." There are two others now generally recognized 
as members of the family, called "fat soluble A" and 
"water soluble 0." 

Brewer's yeast is conceded by all to be the richest 
in vitamines of any substance yet examined. More 



IN THE SPIRIT WORLD OF MEDICINE 189 

work has been done on water soluble B than on any 
other, and it is now .suggested that it may consist, not 
of a single acting body, but of at least two, differing 
in their mode of action toward poly-neuritis and to- 
ward supporting and developing healthy growth. 

It is surprising that the brewing industry failed to 
make the presence of vitamines in beer a potent argu- 
ment for the retention of this commodity in the eco- 
nomic life of the nation. Attempts were made to 
prove that beer had food value," but they carried little 
weight to the minds of those hostile to the beverage 
because it contained a little alcohol. Why the value 
of beer as a ready means for .supplying these all-im- 
portant nutritional substances was not urged upon our 
lawmakers as a reason for not prohibiting its manu- 
facture and sale is beyond comprehension. The 
brewers lost the chance of a life- time. They could have 
employed a vital argument to bolster up the one-sided 
fight. 

Water soluble B is the vitamine that is present in 
spinach, cabbage, potatoes, carrots, turnips, beets, 
onions, and tomatoes, and in the juice of such fruit as 
oranges, lemons, and grapefruit. The importance of 
these foods in the diet is thus apparent. Their lack of 
calorific value no longer possesses any significance. 
They are just as necessary in the general scheme of 
nutrition as are those foods of high protein, fat, and 
carbohydrate content. 

Fresh fruits, green vegetables, and fresh milk con- 
tain the other water soluble vitamine. This body is 
antagonistic to the conditions characterizing the 
dreaded disease scurvy, and anything of this nature 



190 THE STORY OF DRUGS 

is called " antiscorbutic. ' 9 Hence water soluble C is 
the antiscorbutic vitamine. Scurvy is usually asso- 
ciated with the old sailing days, when whaling-vessels 
made long voyages without touching shore, or when 
explorers fought their way for months and years amid 
arctic wastes. Its virtual absence among sailors who 
partook freely of fruit juices began to attract atten- 
tion more than a century ago, and later the British 
made lime-juice a regular ration in the Navy, with the 
result that there have been very few, if any, serious 
outbreaks of scurvy among their seamen since 1795. 
It is a mistake to consider scurvy a disease accompany- 
ing a seafaring life, for it will occur just as readily 
among people who have never been to sea and whose 
occupations are entirely terrestrial. Outbreaks have 
occurred among bodies of troops engaged in land op- 
erations, while infantile scurvy is common where the 
use of pasteurized milk is not accompanied by a suffi- 
cient quanity of fresh orange-juice to supply the anti- 
scorbutic vitamine that is lost when the milk is heated. 
Water soluble C is very easily destroyed; hence 
most fresh vegetables and fruits, when cooked, lose 
their antiscorbutic effect. The significance of this 
fact is cause for reflection when one realizes how ex- 
tensive is the use of canned vegetables and fruits in 
our modern system of living. Fortunately, the bulk 
of our population partake of a varied bill of fare which 
includes a goodly proportion of energizing cereals, 
meat, butter, fresh vegetables, raw milk, and fresh 
fruit. They get, therefore, a sufficient supply of vita- 
mines to maintain the nutritive processes, as well as 
enough combustible material to combat fatigue, thus 



IN THE SPIRIT WORLD OF MEDICINE 191 

enabling them to perform their daily occupations. 

It is among those people whose food supply con- 
sists of a limited variety, or of no variety at all, that 
the lack of vitamines becomes a menace to the general 
health. Take, for example, the prevalence of infantile 
scurvy and rickets among poor children and those 
whose guardians have mistaken ideas about the regi- 
men of infant feeding. It is folly to sterilize all 
foods and drinks to the point that no life-maintaining 
elements are left to function. 

Probably the most widespread condition prevalent 
in this country due to malnutrition is the insidious 
pellagra, a disease associated with the indigent popula- 
tion of the Southern States east of the Mississippi. 
Pellagra is definitely related to diet deficiency. It had 
been recognized in Europe before it was described in 
the United States, but it has undoubtedly existed here 
for a long time. Unsanitary and unhygienic living 
conditions, combined with a monotonous diet void of 
lean fresh meat, milk, eggs, fresh vegetables, and 
fruit, are contributive causes to its development. It 
is manifested in the beginning by the appearance of 
dry, rough patches on the skin, and it is due to this 
condition that the disease became known as pellagra 
(rough skin). Later the stomach and bowels become 
involved, leading to indigestion and diarrhea ; soreness 
of the mouth develops, and the gums begin to bleed. 
In time the entire nervous system becomes affected, 
the activity of the brain impaired, tremors suggestive 
of St. Vitus 's dance shake the body, while the sufferer 
"becomes mentally unbalanced and irresponsible. 

Studies made by the Public Health Service in the 



192 THE STORY OF DRUGS 

pellagra districts demonstrated that for a considerable 
time there has been a gradual diminution in the vita- 
mine content of the diet of the population. The condi- 
tions are the worst during periods of economic de- 
pression, especially when the cotton crop fails or is 
unprofitable. Most of the people affected are improv- 
ident, leading at best, a hand-to -nfouth existence, and 
when they are unable to realize on the chief staple of 
the South, either through their own efforts or by as- 
sisting others, the wherewithal to purchase fresh meat, 
vegetables, milk, eggs, and fruit is lacking, and they 
fall back on highly milled cereals lacking the vita- 
mine-containing germ and pericarp. They use little 
yeast in raising their bread, but depend upon soda, 
which not only is not a source of vitamines, as yeast 
is, but tends to destroy any of those vital substances 
still present in the grain. 

The well kept kitchen-gardens, with their profusion 
of lettuce, cabbages, spinach, beets, peas, carrots, and 
the like, characteristic of the Northern sections, are 
not features of the small farms of the South. There 
it is corn and cotton, cotton and corn, with perhaps 
a cow, a few pigs, and a flock of chickens in times of 
affluence. But when living costs advance, and the 
cotton crop fails, the cows and the pigs have to go, 
the eggs bring too much at the store to be sacrificed 
for the home table, and corn bread and potatoes be- 
come the basis of sustenance. Butter, the source of 
certain vitamines (fat soluble A) about which we shall 
hear later, is a luxury seldom enjoyed even in times 
of comparative affluence. Fresh fruits, with the ex- 
ception of berries in the short season when the wild 



IN THE SPIRIT WORLD OF MEDICINE 193 

crop is available, and watermelons when the dusky 
denizens of the neighborhood have been prevented 
from rifling the patch, seldom have a place in the menu. 
The peach crop is usually gathered and sent to the 
cities or to the canneries. The influence of the lack 
of a mixed ration is manifest among these people 
even when work is plenty; but when hard times come 
— and in some localities it looks as if hard times were 
the rule instead of the exception — the variety in diet 
is supplanted by a monotonous menu lacking in the 
life-sustaining and body-building vitamines, so that 
by springtime the insidious pellagra has obtained a 
strong foothold in the community. 

Any one familiar with Southern conditions could 
have predicted in the fall of 1920 that there would be 
widespread suffering from pellagra in the spring, or 
at least by the beginning of the summer of 1921. 
The South was hit as hard economically after the armis- 
tice as any other section of the country. The cotton 
crop of 1920 was in large measure allowed to remain 
unpicked because the price of the commodity was so 
low that it was unprofitable to pay the cost of the 
labor to gather it. This meant a loss to the small 
grower as well as to the laborer. In the late fall many 
farms were sequestered on account of debt, and the 
poorer element generally faced a winter of hardship 
and poverty. The health of the people, which had 
been stimulated by the accompaniment of the general 
superficial prosperity brought about by war conditions 
when wages were sufficient to enable them to maintain 
a nutritious bill of fare, was able to withstand the 
weakening influence of the deficient diet through the 



194 THE STORY QF DRUGS 

winter; but by spring the less robust began to give 
way, and by summer-time the epidemic was well under 
way. 

In recent years pellagra has become a menace of 
national concern, and to combat it the aid of the 
Public Health Service has been enlisted. If the suf- 
ferers can be subjected to suitable dietary treatment, 
the disease can be controlled; but this is difficult, 
except in communities where hospital assemblage is 
possible. Proper handling of outlying cases through 
a dietary regime is impossible. Th.e psychology of 
the average "poor white' ' and indigent black of the 
South, little understood by any one outside of that 
section, is not deep enough to understand the signifi- 
cance of treating a diseased condition with food that 
they have not got and that, if they did have, they 
would not know how to prepare. It is a fine thing 
to advise people what to eat and how to. prepare it 
for the table; but, as we have observed in an earlier 
chapter, the intelligent and highly educated popula- 
tion of our country will not become dietitians within th.e 
next fifty years at least, so it is folly to expect more 
from those who are lower in the social scale. Further- 
more, if circumstances are such that these people are 
unable to afford proper kinds of nourishment, there 
is little to be gained in advising them to get them and 
letting it go at that. 

Why the employment of Seidell's activated solid, 
unquestionably a remedy for these- diseases of mal- 
nutrition, has been overlooked as an adjunct in hand- 
ling the pellagra situation, it is difficult to fathom. It 
would seem that, in view of the peculiar conditions ob- 



IN THE SPIRIT WORLD OF MEDICINE 195 

taining in the pellagra districts, a rational combination 
of diet, as far as it is possible to direct it, with the em- 
ployment of a remedial agent known to be rich in 
vitamines, would be the apparent course to pursue. 1 

We have yet to discuss the third body of the vita- 
mine group, known as fat soluble A. It occurs in raw 
fresh milk, butter, animal fats, and fresh green leaves 
and grass. When lacking in the diet of infants, it is 
one of the contributing causes to the condition known 
as rickets. Though it is found in animal fats, it is 
of vegetable origin, and the character of the food of 
the animal determines its presence. Dried alfalfa, 
clover, timothy-grass, spinach, and tomatoes are rich 
sources of vitamines A. Yellow corn, carrots, and 
sweet potatoes also contain life-sustaining quantities. 
Milk and butter are not necessarily of high nutritional 
value. If the cattle are able to graze on a pasturage 
rich in clover and good grass, and in winter are fed 
timothy or alfalfa hay, the raw fresh milk should be 
rich in vitamine A. 

Cod-liver oil probably owes a part of its universal 
reputation to its content of fat soluble* A vitamine. 
It has been a popular remedy for decades, being ad- 
ministered in the pure state* and in various combina- 
tions, one of which, Scott *s Emulsion, is one of our 
most widely known family medicines. 

The fact that cod-liver oil possesses valuable prop- 

iAs a result of recent studies as yet unreported, it would appear 
that it may be necessary for us to modify our views concerning the 
cause of pellagra. But, in any event, it has been granted that the 
onset and progress of the disease are dependent upon the character 
of the food supply, and whether or not the lack of vitamines, or per- 
haps something in the nature of a super-vitamine, is primarily re- 
sponsible, is a question that must be subjected to further research. 



196 THE STORY OF DRUGS 

ertiea as a reconstructive agent, perhaps more so than 
any other fixed oil, has attracted the attention of in- 
vestigators for many years. The researches have been 
voluminous, and in the aggregate no less than a hun- 
dred different substances have been reported as taking 
part in its composition. Its virtues have been attri- 
buted to iodin, phosphorus, nitrogenous substances, 
alkaloids, and many others, and altogether the chem- 
istry of the subject has become, considerably involved 
and confusing. This is due, in a large measure, to the 
fact that there is more than one grade of cod-liver 
oil. One group of scientists has worked on one grade, 
another on an oil of an entirely different type, while 
all have reported their findings on cod-liver oil without 
qualifying what kind it was or how pure. 

There are two kinds of commercial oil, and to under- 
stand their difference it is- necessary to describe the 
methods obtaining in the fishing industry from which 
they are derived. Wben the codfish are brought in, 
they are cleaned, the livers being stripped and sepa- 
rated from the rest of the entrails. The livers are 
thrown into casks, which are either taken directly to 
the presses, or allowed to remain for a while until 
enough have been collected to remove to the factory. 
Those that are pressed immediately yield a clear pale- 
yellow oil of high quality, the kind used for making 
high-grade emulsions or for direct consumption by the 
patient, either in capsules or by the tablespoon. The 
livers that are not pressed immediately soon begin 
to putrefy; the complex nitrogenous compounds are 
broken down into simpler substances, some of which 
are known as amines. These dissolve in the oil, and 



IN THE SPIRIT WORLD OF MEDICINE 197 

later, when the oil is recovered, it is dark brown in 
color, highly odorous, and exceedingly distasteful. 
Such an oil is never dispensed directly as a medicine, 
but is used for working up the vast number of cod- 
liver extract compounds so widely advertised. Some- 
times the partially putrefied livers, with their full 
content of oil, are employed for working up these prep- 
arations, but the results obtained are for all intents 
and purposes the same. 

In view of this situation, it is no wonder that there 
has been much confusion concerning the chemistry and 
therapy of cod-liver oil. It is not clear in the scien- 
tific world, outside of a comparatively small number 
of workers who have gone deeply into pharmaceutical 
chemistry. Pure cod-liver oil pressed from fresh 
livers is a readily assimilable fat rich in vitamines. 
It owes its virtue to the latter, and to the fact that, 
as it is comparatively easily broken down in the intes- 
tines, where fats are digested, it provides an abundant 
supply of energizing material, and in some cases will 
add to the weight of the individual who is lacking in 
the proper complement of fat. The special mixtures 
prepared from the dark-colored oils or the livers 
themselves contain little or none of the real oil, and 
to what extent the nitrogenous bodies act favorably on 
the human system has never been satisfactorily demon- 
strated. They may contain the full vitamine content 
of the pure oils, but this, too, is still a matter of con- 
jecture. 

The source of the fat soluble vitamine A present in 
cod-liver oil is an interesting subject for speculation. 
It would appear that vitamin as are synthesized only 



198 THE STORY OF DRUGS 

in the economy of vegetable growths, and that their 
presence in animal products depends on the diet of the 
animal. In fact, it is a question of timely interest 
among scientists whether fat or merely fat-soluble 
vitamine is necessary in the diet. Osborne and Mendel 
have fed rats on a diet almost free from true fats, 
making use of dried alfalfa with its high content of 
vitamine A, and balancing the ration with yeast, 
starch, meat residues, and salt. The subjects thrived 
on the fare, from which they observe, "If true fats 
are essential for nutrition during growth, the minimum 
necessary must be very small." How far this might 
apply to tigers and to men who normally are not 
herbivorously inclined, is still a potential subject for 
investigation. But, coming back to the codfish, we 
must alter our ideas regarding the nature of the food 
of fishes in general, and, instead of considering the cod 
as a ravenous consumer of the smaller fry of the ocean, 
place him in the status of a placid sea-grazer. 

The study of vitamines has progressed in the direc- 
tion of their application to food economy and nutri- 
tion, rather than to their importance as therapeutic 
agents. The knowledge gained concerning their sig- 
nificance to the food requirements of the individual 
has shown that a balanced ration is essential to health 
and growth. The diet should be constructed with due 
regard for water, mineral salts, fat, carbohydrates, 
proteins, and vitamines. In handling the pellagra 
situation, emphasis has been placed on the food supply 
and diet for relieving the basic causes of the disease, 
leaving to medicine the treatment of acute and symp- 
tomatic conditions. Little attention has been given 



IN THE SPIRIT WORLD OF MEDICINE 199 

to the possibilities of vitamine-therapy and the use of 
remedial agents such as Seidell's activated solid. As 
time goes on it is probable that substances of this 
nature will come into vogue and receive the recogni- 
tion that is due them. Dr. Wiley, in a recent interview, 
summarized tersely his conception of the chemistry of 
nutrition as follows: 2 

In the last twenty-five years the chemistry of nutrition 
has become revolutionized. Prior to that time the science 
of nutrition was more or less empirical. At the present time 
it is very rigidly scientific. The outstanding facts of this 
progress are found in the discovery and identification of 
amino-acids, the building-stones of the body. Coupled with 
this has been the discovery and partial identification of the 
properties of the so-called vitamines. Absolutely pure 
foods — that is, pure sugar, pure starch, pure protein, pure 
fat, and pure mineral substances — are incapable of nourish- 
ing the body. There must be present the vital spark, that 
is, the vitamine. If I might compare the human body to 
a motor-car, I would say that the food represents the gaso- 
line and the vitamine the spark. It requires the two to 
drive a car; so it requires food and vitamines to drive the 
human or other animal organism. 

Returning for a moment to the conception of diet- 
ary requirements on the basis of calorific value, we 
will refer to the work of Emerson, who, as a result of 
his researches on nutrition, believes that every in- 
dividual requires sufficient calories to keep his weight 
at a point normal for him. * 'Normal" is usually the 
weight at which he feels best. If underweight, from 
2000 to 4000 calories are necessary to cause him to 

2 Drug and Chemical Markets. IX, 1921, p. 512. 



200 THE STORY OF DRUGS 

gain, when continuing his usual work, provided he 
has proper rest. If the individual is overweight, re- 
ducing the calories to 1600 or 1200 will usually cause 
him to lose. When normal weight is attained in an 
adult, from 1800 to 2400 calories are usually suffi- 
cient to maintain it. 

Emerson has calculated the quantity of calories 
yielded by all of the ordinary foods. He finds, for 
example, that 100 calories are obtained from each 
of one lamb chop, four sardines, one pat of butter, 
twenty-one ounces or four heaping tablespoons of 
boiled spinach, four average fresh tomatoes, and one 
apple. Five ounces of cow's milk or one ounce of top 
cream produce 100 calories. 

In the usual varied diet the vitamine essential is 
ordinarily present in sufficient quantity to prevent 
under-nutrition. But if this feature is lacking in 
the diet, no amount of calories produced "will main- 
tain a healthy condition. 

Rosenau 3 finds that milk is rich in all three vita- 
mines: 

It is usually rich in fat soluble A, contains an abundant 
amount of water soluble B, and a variable but ordinarily 
sufficient quantity of antiscorbutic vitamine. Therefore it 
protects against all of the known deficiency diseases. It has 
long been known that the effect of heat on vitamines varies 
with the reaction and other factors. Most vitamines are 
more readily affected by heat in an alkaline medium than 
in an acid one. Fortunately, most foods are acid. Milk 
is acid from the time it leaves the udder. With regard to 
the effect of heat upon the antiscorbutic vitamine, it has been 
shown that the duration of the heating process is of greater 

3 Boston Medical and Surgical Journal, May 5, 1921, p. 455. 



IN THE SPIRIT WORLD OF MEDICINE 201 

importance than the degree of temperature to which the 
food is subjected. Dry milk may retain its antiscorbutic 
virtue in spite of drying, canning, and aging, especially if 
well packed and hermetically sealed. It loses its potency 
after it is exposed to the air. Canned milks and dried 
milks, then, retain the fat soluble A and water soluble B 
vitamines in almost their original potency. The only vita- 
mine in these preparations that may be affected is the anti- 
scorbutic vitamine. 

Of the physical character of vitamines we know 
very little as yet. That they are individuals we are 
reasonably certain, but they have never been separated 
in a state of purity sufficient for their identity. Seidell 
and Williams, from their work on water-soluble B, 
have determined that it belongs to the series of 
organic substances, and that it is probably very com- 
plex in its make-up. Seidell succeeded in preparing 
a vitamine compound possessing the characteristic 
active properties of the vitamine. When, he endeav- 
ored to separate the vitamine in order that he might 
study it in a state of purity, a substance was obtained 
having none of the life-sustaining characteristics that 
had accompanied the mixture down, to the point of 
separation. It was like working with a spirit hidden 
behind a veil, observing the spread of its influence, 
fascinated by its spell, conversant with it seemingly 
as with a tangible personality, confidently anticipat- 
ing and relying on the effect of its actions and then, 
when the curtain was drawn, to find that the spirit 
had fled. 

But enough is known about these mysterious bodies 
to enable us to subdue them to such a condition that 



202 THE STORY OF DRUGS 

they may be handled and made to exert their influence 
according to our will. The future points the way to 
their usefulness in some form or other for combating 
the malnutrition diseases pellagra, beri-beri, and 
scurvy. They will be concentrated until relatively 
small doses will produce important results. They will 
enter largely into the prevention of undernourishment 
among those populations whose vitality is being re- 
duced by an inadequate and unbalanced diet. In the 
meantime, the popular interest in vitamines will bring 
about the introduction in the market of questionable 
preparations, featuring these substances in one form 
or another, but carelessly formulated, without regard 
to their therapeutic adaptability. These will pass on, 
and the legitimate stable vitamine concentrates, repre- 
sentative of all three forms, will take their place. 

The time will come when the medical supplies of the 
armies and navies of the world will number among 
their indispensable essentials vitamine-containing 
products, prepared with due regard to their content 
of the three essential vitamines, conveniently packed 
and readily available. They will be rationed among 
the troops whenever the food supply becomes unbal- 
anced or when evidences of malnutrition begin to 
appear. The Red Cross and other agencies engaged 
in relief work among the prison camps and refugees 
will "find abundant opportunity for the dispensation 
of preparations of this character. In fact, in the great 
problem of adequately caring for the welfare of large 
congregations assembled under abnormal conditions, 
vitamines are likely to play just as important a part 
as other remedies; for example: quinin, on which 



IN THE SPIEIT WORLD OF MEDICINE 203 

dependence is placed for treating' malaria and certain 
forms of tropical fevers. 

Concentrated forms of vitamine will be featured in 
the commissary stores of the maritime trade, espe- 
cially in the case of sailing-vessels making long voy- 
agers and out of touch with civilization for long periods. 
Explorers, outfitting for their journeys into the vast 
jungle wastes, the limitless steppes lacking the re- 
sources of vegetable and animal life, the bald mountain 
districts where life and energy are under continuous 
challenge, or the lonely and sunless polar ice-fields, 
where tension and nerve-racking strain are never ab- 
sent, will in the same way equip themselves against 
nutrition deficiency with the same forethought that 
they provide for defense against savage animals 
and hostile tribes. 

In fact, when vitamines come into their own, and 
receive the appreciation due them, their importance 
as adjuncts in prophylaxis and the treatment of dis- 
ease will carry the same- appeal to the medical profes- 
sion that their nutritional role now .carries to the 
food economist. 



CHAPTER X 

DOPE AND NOT DOPE 

In the non-professional world the expressions 
"dope," "dope habit," and "dope-user" have a va- 
riety of meanings. Almost always something of a 
repulsive and insidious nature is comprehended, and 
usually, though not always, the term is associated with 
the use of drugs. In fact, to some persons the words 
"drug" and "dope" are virtually synonymous. 

If a food or beverage produces unusual effects on 
the consumer, it is customary to speak of it as having 
been ' ' doped " ; in fact, one of the favorite soft drinks, 
differing in composition from the usual run of pops 
and sodas sold at the fountain, is in some localities 
called for simply by the name "dope." 

To the public at large the associations above re- 
ferred to have become so attached to the word, and 
it has been used so indiscriminately and with such 
general application, that its original meaning hais 
become obscured. In its inception dope meant any 
thick, viscous liquid or semi-fluid; and when, during 
the war, this name was applied to the preparations 
used for coating the cloth of the wings of airplanes", 
it was thought by many to be a slang expression, when 
really it was a correct terhi according to the defini- 
tion in the dictionary. "Dope," in the vocabulary 
of slang, is conceded to refer to a narcotic drug, 

204 



DOPE AND NOT DOPE 205 

though the verb may mean either to stupefy or to 
exhilarate. 

A narcotic is something having the power to pro- 
duce stupor. It is a substance that directly induces 
sleep, allaying sensibility and obliterating the senses, 
and in large f quantities producing narcotism or com- 
plete insensibility. 

Now, the evil associated with the use of narcotic 
drugs is the habit acquired thereby. But not all 
narcotic drugs are habit-forming; and some of the 
habit-forming drugs commonly referred to as nar- 
cotics or dope are not narcotic in a medical sense. 
Before going further, therefore, let us define what is 
understood by the term "habit-forming" or "habit 
acquirement. ' ' This has been very tersely explained 
by Mallet 2 as implying three things. In the first 
place, the habit formed is both detrimental and in- 
jurious ; in the second place, it is one that becomes so 
firmly fixed upon the person acquiring it that it is 
thrown off with great difficulty and with considerable 
suffering; and, in the third place, the continual exer- 
cise of the habit increases the demand for the habit- 
forming agent. 

A consideration of the dope habit and its attendant 
evils is really limited to opium, its preparations and 
habit-forming alkaloids, and to coca leaves, their 
preparations and habit-forming alkaloids. Many 
other drugs are looked upon in some quarters as falling 
into the class of habit-forming agents. Some of these 

i Century Dictionary. 

2 Testimony United States vs. 40 Barrels and 20 kegs Coca Cola. 
District Court of United States, Southern Division, Eastern District 
of Tennessee, 1911. 



206 THE STORY OF DRUGS 

are narcotic in their action, while others manifest 
physiological effects entirely opposite to narcosis. 
Indulgence in the use of tobacco^ even, produces a form 
of narcosis, it is claimed by a firmly intrenched coterie 
of agitators. 

Referring to some of the more commonly occurring 
drugs and medicinal preparations, we find that among 
those exhibiting properties included within the defini- 
tion of narcotic are opium preparations made directly 
from the crude drug, such as laudanum, paregoric, 
Dover's powder, Black drop (not Black draught, which 
is a harmless liver remedy), Bateman's Pectoral 
Drops, Dalby's Carminative, and smoking opium; the 
pure alkaloids, morphin and codein, and their salts; 
and heroin, a derivative substance artificially made 
from morphin. Included in the list of narcotics we 
find also coca leaves and their chief alkaloid, cocain, 
though it should be noted, in passing, that the char- 
acteristic manifestation of these products is primar- 
ily one of exhilaration or stimulation. 

Hyoscin or scopolamin, a powerful substance oc- 
curring in the leaves of henbane and the root of scopola, 
possesses the characteristics of a narcotic. It is the 
drug employed to induce the "twilight sleep" that 
allays the suffering incident to childbirth, and is also 
one of the remedies depended upon by the practitioner 
in the systematic treatment of alcoholism and the 
morphin habit. 

Alcohol falls within the category of narcotic agents. 
Its physiological action is to a large extent misunder- 
stood in the popular estimation ; for, instead of being 
a true stimulant to the brain or nerves, its dominant 



DOPE AND NOT DOPE 207 

influence is that of a depressant. To quote Hare : 3 

The increased activity of thought and speech after its 
use is not due to stimulation, but to depression of the in- 
hibitory nervous apparatus. The activity is therefore that 
caused by lack of control, and is not a real increase in 
energy. So far as the brain is concerned, it does not in- 
crease the vigor of thought nor its depth, nor does it enable 
a man to work out a problem which is difficult. On the con- 
trary, it rather benumbs the activity of mental processes. 
The effect of moderate doses differs from the effect of large 
ones in degree, but not in kind. ... In large doses it pro- 
duces lack of coordination by depression of the brain and 
lower nervous system, the loss of coordination being due 
largely to impairment of sensation, so that the sense of touch 
and the muscle sense are interfered with. This effect makes 
a drunken man fail to recognize the angles or uneven surface 
of surrounding objects, and the impaired mental power and 
disordered judgment, combined with the imperfectly acting 
motor and sensory pathways, cause him to stumble and fall. 

Cannabis, while possessing the elements of a nar- 
cotic, is perhaps more of an analgesic or reliever of 
pain. Its primary effect is exhilarating, and in large 
amounts only is it subsequently hypnotic, which means 
that it produces sleep, a necessary requirement of a 
true narcotic. 

Chloretone, a comparatively recent introduction to 
the materia medica, ha.s a sedative action on the nerv- 
ous system, with accompanying hypnosis. It differs 
from chloral, a true hypnotic, in lacking the objection- 
able quality of the latter, namely, depression of the 
heart action and breathing. It has been successfully 
employed as a remedy for seasickness. 

3 "Practical Therapeutics," 1916, p. 76. 



208 THE STORY OF DRUGS 

Having referred to hypnotics, it is in order at 
this point to discuss the two notable members of this 
class of medicinal agents, chloral and veronal. Hyp- 
notics that are used to produce sleep are divided into 
two groups, the first causing slumber alone, and the 
second producing sleep and at the same time relieving 
pain. The two drugs above mentioned are the con- 
spicuous examples of the first classification, while of 
the latter, which are more strictly speaking narcotics, 
opium and its derivatives are representative. Ex- 
amples of addiction to the use of chloral are on record, 
and no doubt it falls properly within the category of 
habit-forming drugs. When properly administered 
however, its use is attended with little danger, and 
it is within the realm of probability that much of the 
odium attached to its name is due to the knowledge 
of its employment for criminal purposes. Veronal 
is a comparatively safe hypnotic of somewhat recent 
introduction. It is a synthetic drug differing entirely 
from chloral in its make-up. Chemically it is diethyl- 
barbituric acid, and is built up on the urea molecule, 
the latter substance being a constant constituent of 
the human organism, produced during the metabolic 
processes and forming the chief solid constituent of 
the urine. A salt of veronal, veronal sodium, known 
also as medinal, is readily soluble in water, and is 
a very satisfactory product for exhibiting its prop- 
erties. 

Among the other important nerve sedatives that 
possess more or less hypnotic influence are the bro- 
mides and sulphonal. The bromides are mineral salts, 
and should not be confused with the opiates. Their 



DOPE AND NOT DOPE 209 

use in moderation is attended with no special danger, 
but their habitual use to relieve painful and nervous 
symptoms when the cause of the manifestation is ob- 
scure is demoralizing. Hare 4 describes the effects 
of the prolonged use of bromides, known as brominism, 
as follows : 

After the drug has been used for some time in large doses, 
acne appears about the face and extends over the entire 
body; the breath becomes fetid, the patient is dull, ex- 
pressionless, and heavy, and remains buried in sleep dur- 
ing nearly every hour of the day. During this time he can be 
aroused, but at once sinks to sleep again. The gait becomes 
weak and feeble, the movements slow and prolonged. Taste 
is lost and hearing is benumbed, while the intellectual facul- 
ties of the brain are almost in abeyance. Loss of sexual 
power is an early symptom. In other cases evidences of 
mental aberration develop, the patient becoming irritable, 
morose, and even homicidal. Sometimes, however, we find 
melancholia and hallucinations, and rarely exalted ideas 
with symptoms resembling general paresis. 

Sulphonal is a stronger hypnotic than are the bro- 
mides, and has the advantage over chloral in not being 
depressant to the heart. Its elimination is slow, how- 
ever, and its use, if persisted in, brings about a general 
disturbance of the system, accompanied by drowsi- 
ness, unsteadiness of gait, and partial paralysis of the 
lower extremities. Habitual use develops a condition 
of chronic poisoning, accompanying which the ad- 
dict may lapse into profound unconsciousness, ending 
in death through respiratory failure. 

We now come to a list of miscellaneous drugs pos- 

* Op. cit. 147. 



210 THE STORY OF DRUGS 

sessing a sedative influence on the nerves, but which 
ordinarily are not considered hypnotics. They are 
acetanilid, amyl-nitrite, antipyrin, asafetida, aspirin, 
belladonna, camphor, chloroform, cimicifuga (black 
cohosh), ether, Hoffmann's anodyne, hops, mescal, 
phenacetin, and valerian. While there is a similarity 
in their action on the nervous system of a greater or 
lesser degree, their effect on the other bodily organs 
and processes may be extremely varied. Some of 
these remedies are credited with being subject to habit- 
ual use ; but the effect of some of them, except in ab- 
normal instances, cannot be compared with the usual 
accompaniments of the addiction to the opiates and 
cocain. 

We hear occasionally of " ether-lappet," who ap- 
pear to be as enslaved to the ether habit as do chronic 
inebriates. The sordid appearance of these unfortu- 
nate addicts was vividly portrayed a few years ago in 
the character of "Madam X." Chloroform, employed 
as an hypnotic, may lead to the acquirement of an ad- 
diction, the course of which is usually of short dura- 
tion, ending in the death of the unfortunate. Chloro- 
form has a peculiar effect on the circulatory system in 
that, by causing a condition of relaxation, the blood 
is allowed to enter the areas surrounding the network 
of veins, and not enough goes through the heart to 
maintain the vital processes. It is as if the impound- 
ing works of a reservoir should suddenly become elastic 
and spread out, allowing the water to flood the neigh- 
borhood. The World is not likely to become dif- 
fused with an extensive population of chloroform 
addicts, because sooner or later the habitual use of the 



DOPE AND NOT DOPE 211 

drug results in an accident from which there is no 
recovery. 

The four analgesics antipyrin, acetanilid, phenac- 
etin, and aspirin have, at one time or another, been 
subject to more extensive consumption than almost any 
other class of remedies. Antipyrin has Little vogue at 
present, but aspirin has come into prominence in recent 
years and enjoys phenomenal popularity as a remedial 
agent. None of the remedies are narcotic in their 
action and they cannot be classed with the group of 
" dopes.' ' The undue and prolonged use of any of 
them may be deleterious to the consumer, but a some- 
what widespread popular notion that "coal-tar" prod- 
ucts are always dangerous is unwarranted. 

In. their inception antipyrin, acetanilid, and phenac*- 
etin were used for reducing fever, but as the knowl- 
edge of their efficacy for relieving pain became wide- 
spread, the ease with which they could be administered 
led to their adoption as a means for combating head- 
ache, and hence their use is inseparably associated 
with remedies for that disorder. Aspirin is a sali- 
cylic-acid derivative, less complex in its structure than 
the other antipyretics, and was originally offered to 
take the place of salicylates in the treatment of rheuma- 
tism. It was found to have a beneficial effect on 
neuralgia too, and later came into general use as a 
headache remedy. 

Some years ago Kebler, Morgan and Eupp 5 col- 
lected a series of data on the harmful eifects of anti- 
pyrin, acetanilid, and phenacetin, drawing their ma- 

s United States Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Chemistry, Bul- 
letin 126; Farmers' Bulletin 377. 



212 THE STORY OF DRUGS 

terial from the experiences reported by some four 
hundred physicians. The figures showed that, with 
antipyrin and phenaoetin, most of the cases where del- 
eterious conditions were observed occurred in the 
early years of their administration, and thereafter 
only a nominal number of instances were recorded. 
Acetanilid followed a similar course until 1904, after 
which time there was a slight increase in the cases of 
reputed poisoning. A few instances of habitual use 
were cited, but, considering the universal and indis- 
criminate consumption of these drugs, the proportion- 
ately meager cases of addiction, when contrasted with 
the situation with respect to the opiates, need cause 
little concern. 

The habitual dependency of any individual on the 
remedies that we have thus briefly discussed, for the 
relief of abnormal conditions, whether or not the drugs 
themselves are credited with being habit-forming in 
the sense of Mallet's definition, is not to be com- 
mended. If the ailment is of a constantly recurring 
character, professional advice should be sought, so that 
the seat of the trouble may be located and steps taken 
to cure it. Hypnotics and nerve sedatives have their 
place for relieving the ills to which mankind is sus- 
oeptible, but they should not be relied upon indefi- 
nitely to relieve the symptoms of some more obscure 
pathological condition, any more than should the in- 
dividual depend upon the administration of a laxative 
drug to bring about a daily evacuation of the bowels. 

There is a tendency to jump at hasty conclusions 
whenever there are reports of an accident due to the 
taking of some drug. When subjected to unbiased 



DOPE AND NOT DOPE 213 

investigation, these stories are often found to be based 
on incorrect information, both as to the character of 
the drug and the condition of the user. Closer scru- 
tiny often reveals the fact that the user has* an ax 
to grind or that his condition is primarily induced 
by abuse of some character or other. Even the nature 
of the drug under condemnation may be erroneously 
heralded, a situation that occurs in scientific literature 
as well as in the daily press. At the time of the 
Coca Cola trial, citation was made of certain deaths 
from cafTein reported in the medical journals; but a 
critical study of the articles revealed the fact that 
either the drugs under consideration were not cafTein, 
or the mortality was due to causes other than the 
cafTein. 

There is danger of placing too great credence in the 
reports of the habitual use of drugs. Investigation 
frequently reveals that the information is worthless. 
For example, in assembling data for a compilation of 
the extent of the opium and cocain habit, one of the re- 
viewers asked a reporter how he became acquainted 
with the fact that there were six hundred cases within 
his jurisdiction. The reporter replied that he knew 
of six cases, but that if he turned in such a small 
number his report would look ridiculous, so he multi- 
plied the figure by one hundred. Again at the time 
of the Coca Cola trial, the government agents sought 
to gather evidence that the drink was habit-forming. 
Plenty of information was freely offered to show that 
such was the case ; but when it was attempted to run 
down concrete examples, or to obtain the evidence 
under oath, the investigators ran up against a blank 



214 THE STORY OF DRUGS 

wall. A physician finally went on the witness-stand 
to testify that he had nnder treatment three Coca 
Cola habitues; bnt before cross-examination, and be- 
tween sessions of the court, he withdrew his testi- 
mony and was heard of no more. Thus far an authen- 
tic Cola Cola fiend is as great a myth and as hard 
to locate as Eben Holden's "swift." 

In most of the headache remedies featuring anti- 
pyrin, acetanilid, or phenacetin, the analgesic drug 
is usually combined with caffein and perhaps two or 
three other ingredients. The caffein is put in for the 
alleged purpose of counteracting the depressing effect 
of the coal-tar compound. 

At one time a violent controversy raged in the pro- 
fessional world over the question of the habit-forming 
nature of caffein. The contention was precipitated 
on account of the rapidly increasing consumption of 
Coca Cola. When analyzed, the beverage was shown 
to contain, in the quantity ordinarily dispensed to 
the consumer, about one grain of caffein, the same 
proportion that is present in a cup of good tea and 
about half as much as found in a cup of strong coffee. 
Elaborate researches were instituted. The study of 
the properties of caffein received the attention of 
nearly all the prominent scientists of a decade ago, and 
never has the physiological action of any other 
drug been subjected to so exhaustive an inquiry as 
has that of caffein. 

At the Chattanooga trial the life history of caffein 
was exposed in the minutest detail by the experts, the 
testimony being of sufficient volume to compile a large 
text-book; but no one could substantiate the conten- 



DOPE AND NOT DOPE 215 

tion that the drug, when consumed in the dosage noted 
above, was habit-forming, or that it was essentially 
deleterious. The testimony of Hare, an experimenter 
and therapeutist of international prominence, is 
of interest, since it summarizes the professional con- 
ception of the action of caffein on the ordinary 
individual, and establishes its position in the drug 
world : 

Q. Is the use of caffein as a stimulant followed by depres- 
sion? 

A. It is not. 

Q. Is caffein a habit-forming substance? 

A. Never. 

Q. Does it have any cumulative effect? 

A. Not in the slightest degree. . . . Caffein increases the 
muscular ability to woi?k without producing any secondary 
depression, and without in any way impairing what has 
sometimes been called the reserve energy of the muscles. 
In other words, it has very much the same effect upon the 
efficiency of muscles as oiling machinery has upon the 
efficiency of the machinery. It enables them to expend 
their energy with less effort. 

Q. For what purpose is it used as a medicine.? 

A. As a stimulant to the general nervous system in cases 
of depression, to improve the action of the heart in persons 
who are over-fatigued, played out, to increase the activity 
of the kidneys when the urinary secretion is not as free as 
it should be, to relieve certain types of headaches and eye- 
strain. 

Q. Is caffein a poison? 

A. Not at all. 

Q. On what do you base the statement that caffein is not 
a poison? 

A. In the first place, I have administered it in very large 



216 THE STORY OF DRUGS 

doses without seeing that it produced any symptoms that 
would justify any one classing it as a poison. ... In not 
one case that I have been able to find, where death followed 
the use of caffein, was there any proof whatever that caffein 
caused the death, and there were abundant evidences that 
there were three or four other likely causes of death. In 
the case of poisoning which did not go to the point of death, 
the doses were either very, very large or they were poorly 
reported; and the fact that caffein is found in certain books 
classed under the head of poisons or with many substances 
which are ordinarily known as poisons, is of no particular 
significance. To illustrate what I mean, if you look in the 
United States census, you will find that chickenpox is 
classed under infectious diseases with consumption and 
pneumonia. You will find two hundred thousand deaths 
from pneumonia and one or two from chickenpox, and if 
you investigate the cases where the death was reported from 
chickenpox, you will find they occurred in children so near 
death by reason of other diseases that anything would have 
sent them off, and that is the way with caffein when it is 
quoted as a poison in certain books, in connection with 
other substances which are poisonous. 

The action of caffein is stimulating. It is not a 
narcotic, nor does it possess hypnotic properties. It 
is not a dope in any sense of the term. In tea and 
coffee it is consumed by a large proportion of the in- 
habitants of the globe, and in these beverages its 
physiological properties manifest themselves in ex- 
actly the same way and to the same degree as when 
the same relative amount of the drug is administered 
in what is termed the free state. 

It will be noted that the discussion of the topic 
under consideration has generally been in reverse 



DOPE AND NOT DOPE 217 

order to the title of the chapter. We have referred 
to a number of drugs with which the public is famil- 
iar, either from personal experience or hearsay, and 
have reserved until the last our treatment of the opiates 
and cocain. Aside from alcohol, addiction to these 
drugs overshadows completely the habitual use of all 
other agents combined, and this in spite of a vast 
amount of meritorious regulatory and restrictive legis- 
lation. 

But, before plunging into the consideration of this 
many-phased subject, we must digress for a short 
interval to treat of a very interesting commodity known 
as cannabis. This drug, to which the name of hash- 
ish is commonly applied, has incited the interest 
of the Occidental student for a long period of time. 
The weird accounts of the gorgeous realms of Elysium 
to which one is transported when under the spell of 
its intoxication are full of romance. Hashish has 
been featured in the lore of the East ever since civiliza- 
tion began to keep a record of its progress. The word 
banza, which appears to be synonymous with hashish, 
figures in the Indian vocabulary as far back as b. c. 
1400. However, it is important that we should develop 
a clear understanding as to the difference between 
cannabis, the medicine, and hashish, the Oriental in- 
toxicant. 

The name Cannabis is generic for the hemp plant, 
the full botanical designation being Cannabis sativa, 
or the superseded synonym Cannabis indica. The 
botanical individual to which it is applied is the same, 
whether it is grown in. India, Persia, Greece, or the' 
United States, though it may show variations in its 



218 THE STORY OF DRUGS 

stature and growth. The diversities have been mis- 
taken for distinct species, and have caused much con- 
fusion in the drug trade. The variety desirable for 
producing rope fiber is tall and comparatively sparsely 
branched, shooting up to a height of fifteen feet or 
more. That most suitable for yielding the drug has 
a bushy growth, seldom exceeding ten feet at the top 
and averaging somewhat less. The species is one of 
the few in the vegetable kingdom that is bi-sexual; 
that is, the male blossoms are borne on a plant dis- 
tinct from the one on which the female flowers appear. 
For reproduction or the development of viable seeds, 
both sexes must be present, just as in the animal 
world it requires the sexual union of the opposite 
genders to carry out nature 's function of perpetuation. 
In the case of the cannabis the pollen or fertilizing 
agent secreted by the male plant is received through 
the medium of the air currents by the open pistillate 
blossoms of the female. 

The branches of the female plant and the smaller 
subsidiary branchlets develop at their terminals thick 
clusters of matted flowers, which at full development 
secrete a sticky greenish resin. These tops, when 
dried and stripped from the stems, constitute the com- 
mercial drug from which all medicinal preparations 
of cannabis are made. And since it is prescribed in 
the various drug standards of the world that the blos- 
soms should be unfertilized, it is necessary, when the 
drug is grown for commerce, to remove the male plants 
from the field before their flowers expand and the 
pollen is ready for distribution. When properly pre- 
pared, cannabis is a potent and perfectly reliable drug 



DOPE AND NOT DOPE 219 

which may be converted into medicines exhibiting its 
characteristic physiological properties in permanent 
form. Though cannabis medicines are used for their 
sedative action on the nervous system, and for certain 
purposes may provide satisfactory substitutes for the 
opiates, many of the unsatisfactory secondary effects 
attendant on the employment of the latter are absent, 
and there are few, if any, authentic instances of death 
resulting from their administration. 

The addiction of the Oriental to the use of hashish 
has led to many exhaustive inquiries into the extent of 
the practice and the character of the drug employed. 
It appears that there are several preparations to 
which the name hashish is loosely applied, including 
mixtures for smoking and chewing, as well as an intoxi- 
cating beverage. In India the drink is called bhang, 
the smoking compound ganga or charas, and the chew- 
ing mixture, which is a sort of confectionary, mad jo on. 
All of these preparations are built up around canna- 
bis; but investigation has disclosed that other potent 
drugs also are included, especially opium, henbane, 
and one of the daturas, an Eastern relative of our 
jimson-weed. In those where the objective is the de- 
velopment of a sexual trend of mind, such drugs as 
musk, ambergris, and cantharides or Spanish fly are 
added. The term hashish is, therefore, more or less 
generic in character, and applies to all forms of in- 
toxicating mixtures of the above character. 

The fact that the use of cannabis in the East is 
invariably associated with other powerful drugs no 
doubt accounts for the remarkable dreams, deliriums, 
manias, and sexual excitations that have been reported 



220 THE STORY OF DRUGS 

as accompanying the hashish habit. In the Occident 
the choice of the drug addicts has been either for the 
opiates or the coca preparations and alkaloids, and 
they prefer to take them straight. There has been no 
incentive for them to adulterate their potions with 
cannabis, and the use of preparations composed solely 
of this drug to satisfy a morbid craving is virtually 
unheard of. Hare 6 states: "In the Anglo-Saxon race 
the cannabis indica habit is practically unknown.' ' 
And Wilbert 7 reports : " So far as I know there are 
no authentic drug addictions on record among the 
Anglo-Saxons.' ' 

That cannabis alone, or what is termed a solid ex- 
tract of the drug, produces a form of intoxication has 
been conclusively demonstrated. The temperament 
and occupation of the individual apparently influences 
the visions manifested by the drug's action. For in- 
stance, a person of artistic leaning will visualise re- 
markable color schemes, spectacular designs appearing 
on the retina of the brain emblazoned with hues of 
beautiful tints and shades. It is reputed that de- 
signers of bold creations sometimes treat themselves 
with moderate doses of cannabis extract, and, while 
under the spell of the drug, evolve unique patterns 
with gorgeous and concordantly blended illuminations. 
Possibly the startling and ludicrous effects produced 
by the artists of the cubist school, a temporary fad of 
a few years ago, were in some instances suggested 
and perhaps directed by cannabis intoxication. 

Another feature of cannabis bacchanalia is the re- 

e "Practical Therapeutics," 1916, p. 168. 
1 Therapeutic Gazette, November 15, 1910. 



DOPE AND NOT DOPE 221 

action of the individual to the factor of time. Inter- 
vals of a few seconds may assume the proportion of 
minutes or even hours. For example, a person under 
the influence of cannabis reported that, on attempting 
to bathe, the soap slipped from his hand and appeared 
to float to the floor like a feather, the interval consum- 
ing, to the mind of the inebriate, the space of several 
minutes. 

Opiates and coca preparations furnish the where- 
withal for satisfying the cravings of the addicts of the 
Anglo-Saxon race, the former comprising by far the 
larger proportion of the total consumed. When men- 
tion is made of the drug habit or the ' ' dope ' ' evil, the 
reference, in ninety-nine cases out of a hundred, is to 
the use either of the opiates or the coca preparations. 
They are the drugs that are most pernicious from the 
standpoint of habit formation. Their consumption 
for morbid purposes completely overshadows that of 
all the other drugs combined. 

The two drugs come from opposite ends of the 
earth. The evolution of the opium poppy occurred 
in what is now Asia Minor; the evolution of the coca 
tree in the lower ranges of the mountains on the west- 
ern coast of South America. Opium, the coagulated 
juice of the poppy capsules, has been a factor in the 
life of civilized man in the East for thousands of years. 
Coca leaves have figured in the activities of the ab- 
original inhabitants of the western world south of the 
equator ever since social life was established there. 

The production of opium was extended from Asia 
Minor to Persia and then to India, following the mi- 
grations and intermingling of the races in ancient 



222 THE STOEY OF DEUGS 

times. At a considerably later period it was taken 
up by the Chinese. The commercial supplies of mod- 
ern times have come from Asia Minor and India. 

The capsule of the opium poppy is considerably 
larger than that of the familiar ornamental flower of 
our home gardens. At the time the petals are begin- 
ning to expand, it is full of a sticky, milky juice resem- 
bling the liquid that exudes from the common milkweed 
when its stem is fractured. On the opium plantation, 
when the plants have reached this stage in their 
growth, the laborers go through the field and with a 
sharp knife make several incisions in the wall of the 
capsules. Through these wounds the milky juice ex- 
udes and, spreading over the surface, soon coagulates 
and becomes dark brown in color. Later on this exu- 
dation is scraped off and collected, with accretions 
from other capsules, into a mass the size of a cannon- 
ball. These balls constitute the commercial product 
known as gum opium. 

The crude drug is a complex of various chemical 
substances, including some twenty alkaloids, among 
which morphin predominates. It also contains a 
goodly proportion of gums, resins, water, and plant 
acids. The quantity of morphin runs considerably 
higher in the gum from Asia Minor than in the Indian 
product. The crude opium is used directly for the 
preparation of laudanum and paregoric, as well as a 
host of mixtures in which it is combined with various 
other remedial agents. 

Morphin and codein are extracted from opium by 
the manufacturing chemist. To obtain them, the gum 
is broken up and treated with acidulated water, which 



DOPE AND NOT DOPE 223 

dissolves the alkaloids, leaving behind a large quantity 
of inert material. This acid solution of the alkaloids, 
on subsequent manipulation, yields a precipitate of 
crude morphin, from which the liquor is filtered away 
and treated later for the recovery of the codein. The 
crude morphin is grayish brown in color. When dis- 
solved in dilute sulphuric acid and the solution treated 
with decolorizing agents, there is finally obtained a 
mass of fluffy white crystals of morphin sulphate, the 
product from which nearly all the commercial morphin 
preparations, pills, tablets, cough syrups, etc., are 
made. 

Morphin sulphate is prepared for the market in 
little cubes about the size of small sugar lumps, each 
unit consisting of a mass of white matted crystals. It 
is one of the forms of morphin that finds its way into 
the avenues of the dope traffic. The tablets for hypo- 
dermic use are usually triturates, and are made accord- 
ing to the process we have described in a preceding 
chapter. 

Codein is purified in a manner similar to morphin. 
Its employment by addicts is limited, when compared 
with the quantity of morphin consumed by those un- 
fortunate victims of the deplorable evil. Most of it 
goes into the preparation of cough mixtures and reme- 
dies for headache and fever. 

Heroin is now extensively used by addicts as a sub- 
stitute for morphin. It is a derivative of the lat- 
ter, obtained by introducing the element of acetic 
acid into the morphin molecule. Chemically it is 
diacetyl morphin. In its legitimate field it func- 
tions largely in cough mixtures, asthma cures, and 



224 THE STORY OF DRUGS 

other medicines for the nasal and bronchial tracts. 

Preparations of gum opium, morphin sulphate, salts 
of codein, and heroin constitute the bulk of what are 
popularly designated as the " opiates.' ' 

Smoking opium, prepared in China, formerly came 
into the United States in large quantities ; but in 1909 
Congress passed a law prohibiting its importation for 
other than medicinal purposes. Some idea of the ex- 
tent of the traffic may be acquired when it is stated 
that, in 1908, 147,624 pounds were imported. It came 
packed in small bronze boxes each holding a little less 
than half a pound, the outside of the box bearing a 
label covered with Chinese characters. 

The preparation of smoking opium is very simple. 
The gum is extracted with hot water in a suitable con- 
tainer, the liquor strained off from the debris, and 
evaporated to the consistency of thick molasses. It is 
then ready for use. 

Up until a comparatively recent date, gum opium 
was produced in China, but with the advent of new 
political conditions in the Empire the opium industry 
was abolished. Virtually all of the gum of Chinese 
production went into the manufacture of smoking 
opium. The Indian opium likewise has been converted 
almost entirely into the same commodity, and for 
years was sent into China to augment the supplies of 
domestic manufacture. Conditions have altered con- 
siderably in recent years, and the Chinese government 
is now striving to the best of its ability to prevent 
the further debauching of its population through the 
agency of the insidious drug. 



DOPE AND NOT DOPE 225 

The gum opium formerly produced in China, and 
still obtained in India, comes from a variety of poppy 
known as .the white poppy. It has a lower morphin 
content than the gum yielded by the black variety, 
which furnishes the drug coming out of Asia Minor. 
The supplies of opium imported and used commer- 
cially in the United States are comprised almost ex- 
clusively of the Asia Minor or so-called Smyrna gum. 
This gum, on account of its relatively high percentage 
of alkaloid, is preferred by the manufacturer of medi- 
cines; and, when compared to the Chinese product, 
the smoking opium surreptitiously prepared from it in 
this country shows a higher content of alkaloid. 

Adams and Doran, 8 commenting on the manufacture 
and use of smoking opium, amplify Thorpe 's 9 sum- 
mary of the four varieties of opium recognized by 
the Chinese. These are: 

1. Raw or crude opium (that is, the crude gum opium). 

2. Prepared opium (or the finished product for smoking). 

3. Dross or pipe cleanings (the ash remaining after smok- 
ing. This is known among Chinamen, at least in the United 
States, as yen-shi) . 

4. Opium dirt, or the exhausted marc after extraction of 
the gum opium. 

They state further that when smoking opium is pre- 
pared in this country 

there is added to the evaporating mass, in some cases, the 
water extract of the yen-shi, or pipe residue, and in other 
cases the yen-shi in toto. This practice is claimed by some 

s Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry, 1912, p. 429. 
9 "Dictionary of Applied Chemistry," Vol. 3, p. 72. 



226 THE STORY OF DRUGS 

to add flavor to the finished product, but as the use of yen- 
shi or yen-shi extract has not been detected in smoking 
opium of known Chinese manufacture, it is fair to assume 
that its use in this country is purely a matter of economy 
in the recovery of some of the unconsumed opium in the 
yen-shi, or possibly the familiar process of adulteration. 

The process of smoking opium in the opium dens or so- 
called hop joints is substantially as follows: 

A small mass of the material about the size of a pea is 
taken upon a " dipper" or a small metal rod, known as a 
yen-hook. This lump is dexterously rotated in the flame 
of a small lamp, usually a peanut-oil lamp, until the ex- 
cessive moisture is driven off and the mass is partly in- 
cinerated, or until the "pill is cooked." 

It is then placed in the bowl of the opium-pipe and held 
just over the flame of the lamp and the smoke from the 
"pill" inhaled. The preparations for smoking occupy 
ten to fifteen minutes, the actual operation of smoking about 
thirty seconds. 

The Chinese laborer, who takes his portion of opium 
regularly every day of his life, who belongs to the 
class of moderate users making up a good proportion 
of the patrons of the opium traffic, and whose ances- 
tors for generations have been accustomed to the effect 
of this drug, goes to the opium den, pays his money, 
obtains the use of a pipe, a lamp, and a needle. He 
dips the needle into the box of opium, twists it around, 
and withdraws a mass of the treacle-like substance. 
He holds the sticky mass over the flame of the lamp, 
rotating the needle, while the heat drives the moisture 
from the bubbling opium. When it attains the con- 
sistency of molasses candy, he lets it cool, kneading it 



DOPE AND NOT DOPE 227 

in the bowl of the pipe until it assumes the shape of a 
cylinder. Then he plunges the point of the needle into 
the hole in the pipe-bowl, adjusts the little cylinder of 
opium into an upright position, deftly twists the needle 
and withdraws it, leaving the drug now with a hole 
through the center of the mass where the needle was, 
in juxtaposition to the hole in the pipe-bowl. 

He is now ready to begin operations. Expelling all 
of the air from his lungs, he applies the flame to the 
pill and with several deep inhalations fills his lungs 
with the fumes of the burning opium. If he takes two 
or three smokes he usually retires to a bunk to sleep 
off the effect of the drug. He is frequently satisfied 
with a single indulgence. 

Close observers believe that the Chinaman who uses 
opium in moderation suffers no ill effects. The drug 
seems to act to prevent bodily waste, thereby staving 
off fatigue and enabling the user to perform labor in 
excess of what he could do without the drug. It is on 
the same theory that the coca-chewer is enabled to 
endure the strain of several days of uninterrupted 
traveling on foot across the Andes. Fatigue is due to 
the accumulation of waste in the body. It requires 
food, rest, and sleep to eliminate the accumulation 
and repair the waste. The stimulus of the coca re- 
tards the waste of the tissue and thereby staves off 
fatigue. 

Aside from the native South American, the use of 
the drug coca has never attained the proportions that 
opium has beyond the borders where it is produced. 
It is its principal alkaloid cocain, separated from the 



228 THE STORY OF DRUGS 

drug and converted into the hydrochloride, that is re- 
sponsible for the widespread addiction, to the use of 
"coke." 

The coca tree has been cultivated on the west coast 
of South America from time immemorial. Until re- 
cently the drug was produced almost exclusively in 
Peru and Bolivia ; but plantings from this source were 
eventually established in Java, and now the leaves 
from Java coca are a factor in the supplies of the 
world. Smaller amounts come from plantings in 
Ecuador, Columbia, Brazil, Argentina, the West 
Indies, Ceylon, Zanzibar, and Australia. 

The coca tree should not be confounded with the tree 
yielding the cacao bean, from which chocolate and 
cocoa are prepared. This tree also grows in South 
America. Cacao butter, used in the preparation of 
cosmetics and suppositories, is obtained from the cacao 
bean. The coconut palm is still another species, and 
the fat of the nut, called coco butter, is used in the 
soap industry, as well as for making butter substi- 
tutes. It is entirely different in its composition from 
cacao butter. 

In order to obtain the drug coca, the leaves are 
stripped from the branches, spread out in thin layers, 
and allowed to dry spontaneously. When freshly pre- 
pared the drug contains seven or eight alkaloids, all 
closely related, but with cocain predominating. By 
the use of a proper solvent, coal-tar benzene, kerosene, 
or a similar liquid that does not mix with water, the 
active principles are removed from the leaves, to- 
gether with most of the coloring matter and a con- 
siderable amount of wax. On agitating the solvent 



DOPE AND NOT DOPE 229 

with a dilute acid, the cocain and other alkaloids pass 
into the acid solution, and when the layers of liquid 
separate, the undesirable color and wax are left behind 
in the immiscible fluid. From the acid solution all 
of the alkaloids are separated in a crude form, and sub- 
sequently, by proper manipulation with solvents and 
acids, the cocain is obtained in a pure form as the salt 
of hydrochloric acid. 

Quantities of coca are shipped all over the world for 
the purpose of extracting the cocain, and to be made 
up into medicines representing the crude drug. Large 
amounts of crude cocain are prepared for export in the 
countries where the drug originates. This crude co- 
cain is taken by the manufacturing chemist, properly 
refined, and converted into the hydrochloride. 

•Coeain hydrochloride is a white crystalline sub- 
stance which dissolves readily in water and is an ideal 
substance for working up into tablets for use in the 
hypodermic syringe. Large quantities are powdered 
and made into snuffs, usually by admixture with sugar 
of milk or acetanilid. It is by means of the hypo- 
dermic needle and by snuff that the "coke" addicts 
are satiated. At one time the drug market was flooded 
with a number of catarrh powders featuring cocain 
hydrochloride as their essential ingredient; but the 
authorities of the national government, incident to the 
passage of the Food and Drugs Act and the Harrison 
Narcotic Law, have, to a large extent, curbed their sale 
and driven them out of the trade. 

The extent of the traffic in narcotic drugs is difficult 
to estimate. The importations of opium amount to 
more than half a million pounds annually, a consider- 



230 THE STORY OF DRUGS 

able proportion of which is converted by the manufac- 
turing chemist into the salts of morphin and codein, 
or the derivative heroin, while a goodly quantity is 
compounded by the medicine manufacturers into ex- 
tract and tincture of opium, cough syrups, and other 
special preparations. Proprietary or patent medi- 
cines absorb but a very small amount of the total. 
Some of the salts are exported, and undoubtedly are 
smuggled back again through the so-called " under- 
ground " route, thus finding their way into the illicit 
trade ; although the bulk of the illegitimate trade con- 
sists of material that does not originate in this country, 
and its magnitude is estimated as equal to that carried 
on through the legitimate channels. 

Except for smoking opium, the smuggled opiates 
consist largely of the salts of the alkaloids and their 
derivatives. These substances have a high intrinsic 
value, a few pounds being worth a small fortune, and 
they are easily hidden. The predilection of opiate 
addicts in this country is for the pure salts, and not 
for the crude opium. Quantities sufficient for a great 
many treatments can be sequestered with little sus- 
picion, and administered at opportune moments with 
the aid of the hypodermic syringe, this being the 
favorite method of administration practised by ad- 
dicts of the Anglo-Saxon race. 

Coca leaves to the extent of more than a million 
pounds are imported annually. While a considerable 
proportion of the drug is brought in for the purpose 
of extracting the cocain, which varies from one half 
to one per cent., depending on the quality of the leaf, 
a very appreciable quantity is imported for conversion 



DOPE AND NOT DOPE 231 

into a special dealkaloided flavoring extract for the 
soft-drink trade, the cocain, as it were, being the by- 
product. This cocain is, of course, refined, and enters 
commerce either for domestic consumption or for 
export. 

The legitimate use of cocain is limited largely to 
the dental profession, surgery, and nose and throat 
work. In recent years the introduction of a number of 
synthetic anesthetics such as novocain, alypin, eucain, 
and anesthesin have materially curtailed the employ- 
ment of cocain; hence it is apparent that the bulk of 
that made in this country must either go into the ex- 
port field or be absorbed through underground 
channels. 

To quote Boos : 

The use of morphin causes men- to become nervous wrecks, 
who are devoid of any sense of responsibility, weak in 
character and purpose, untruthful, and unfit for bodily or 
mental effort. They continue to decline until a large 
number end in hopeless insanity. 

After six months of use the drug begins to produce 
the symptoms of chronic poisoning. These symptoms dis- 
appear after each hypodermic injection, and give way for 
a few hours to a sense of well being and happiness, then 
to return with ever-increasing intensity. In time the hor- 
rible sensations of the morphinist, when the effect of the 
drug has subsided, compel him, with a relentless and irre- 
sistible force, to take refuge from himself and his tortures 
in another morphin dream. He uses the most remarkable 
cunning and strategy to secure the drug, and he will stop 
at nothing in his purpose. In the end the morphin-user 
lives from the morphin and in it. 

It is not difficult to recognize the victim. His skin is 



232 THE STORY OF DRUGS 

pale and flaccid. He is emaciated (the high-grade morphin- 
ist resembles an exhumed cadaver). The face is covered 
with eruption. The arms show evidence of many needle- 
thrusts, some of them developed into abscesses on account 
of the septic condition of injection. The eyes are dull, the 
pupils small, sometimes unequal. The victim is frequently 
affected with double or impaired vision. The pulse is small 
and usually slow. When morphin is withheld from them, 
the victims invariably show the serious phenomena of 
abstinence, which at times resemble a fulminating intoxi- 
cation. They feel uncomfortable, mentally depressed, fear- 
ful, are subject to profuse cold perspiration. The face is 
red, they are extremely irritable; at times this reflex irri- 
tability takes the form of a true delirium tremens. Respira- 
tion and the action of the heart suffer, and sometimes they 
seem near a dangerous collapse. A hypodermic injection of 
morphin acts like magic, instantly dispelling all these sym- 
toms and giving happiness to the victim. 

If the abstinence is continued the symptoms gradually 
abate and the victim's condition steadily improves, but the 
desire for morphin may be felt for weeks and even months. 

The cocainist is much worse than the user of morphin, 
because cocain produces a kind of dementia which is ex- 
pressed in a persecutional or suicidal mania. The cocain- 
ist will commit violent excesses, and even murder, when he 
is in his delirium. 

Many of the cocainists commit suicide. If they do not 
lay hands on themselves, they gradually subside into a state 
of mental and bodily stupor. Eventually they become en- 
tirely oblivious to themselves and their surroundings, for- 
getting even to give attention to the ordinary physiological 
necessities of the body. They finally die of marasmus, or 
wasting of the flesh. 

In advanced cases of cocainism great weakness and pros- 



DOPE AND NOT DOPE 233 

tration are evident. The cocainist resembles the morphin- 
ist in appearance only — his pupils are dilated and his pulse 
is rapid and irregular. Cocainists show a tendency to 
hallucination. Their bodies are more apt to be covered with 
abscesses than those of the morphinists. 

According to the representations of a special nar- 
cotic committee reporting to the commissioner of 
Internal Revenue in 1919 : 10 

Complete and accurate statistics of the extent of drug 
addiction have never been compiled and are not available. 

The number of individuals addicted to the use of opium, 
its preparations or alkaloids, and coca leaves, their prep- 
arations and alkaloids, in the United States has, at various 
times, been estimated to be from 200,000 to 4,000,000. 
These estimates must, however, be looked upon as mere 
guesses in most cases, because of the fact that there have 
been no means available for reaching an accurate estimate 
in the past. 

It appears that a more accurate estimate of the total 
number of addicts may be obtained from the data secured 
by those investigators who have made an intensive study 
of drug addiction in certain restricted communities. For 
example, the health officer of Jacksonville, Florida, reported 
887 addicts in that city in 1913. This number represents 
1.31 per cent, of the population. Upon this basis, the 
total number of addicts in the United States in 1918, tak- 
ing the estimated population as 106,000,000, would be 
1,388,600. 

Information in the hands of the committee indicates that 
drug addiction is less prevalent in rural communities than 
in cities or in congested centers. It would, therefore, be 

io Treasury Department, United States Internal Revenue, Traffic in 
Narcotic Drugs, report of Special Committee of Investigation. 



234 THE STORY OF DRUGS 

unfair to estimate the number of addicts in the entire coun- 
try on the basis of the figures obtained for New York City. 
Furthermore, it is the opinion of the committee that an 
estimate based on the number of .addicts in a small city 
like Jacksonville, Florida, would not be representative for 
the entire country. Taking these facts into consideration, 
the committee is of the opinion that the total number of 
addicts in this country probably exceeds 1,000,000 at the 
present time. 

Data assembled by the committee show that the habit of 
using opiates or cocain is acquired through association with 
addicts, through the physician, and through self-medica- 
tion with these drugs or patent or proprietary preparations 
containing the same. The first two ways in which addiction 
is acquired are about of equal importance at the present 
time, the last being of lesser importance in the light of the 
replies received to the questionnaires sent out. 

The addict of the under-world, in a large majority of 
cases, acquires the habit of using these drugs through his 
or her associates. This is probably due to the fact that 
addicts of this class make use of heroin and cocain most 
frequently, these drugs being employed as a snuff. It is 
therefore an easy matter to treat a companion to a sniff of 
the "dope." In addition, these drugs are made use of by 
"white slavers" in securing and holding their prey, and by 
prostitutes in entertaining their callers. 

With respect to the addict of good social standing, the 
evidence obtained by the committee points to the physician 
as the agent through whom the habit is acquired in the 
majority of cases. Some, however, become addicted to the 
use of these drugs through self-medication, while a few 
first indulge as a social diversion. 

The drugs used by addicts in order of their frequency, 
as shown in the replies to all forms of questionnaires sent 



DOPE AND NOT DOPE 235 

out by the committee, are as follows: morphin, neroin, 
opium (all forms), and cocain. Codein, laudanum, and 
paregoric are reported as being used in about equal 
amounts, but to a lesser extent. In recent years the use 
of heroin has greatly increased, and in some communities 
it is at present used more extensively than any of the other 
drugs. This is believed to be due to the ease with which 
it can be taken, it being usually employed as a snuff, and to 
the fact that the habit is acquired by association in a large 
majority of cases. It is at present regarded by many as 
the most dangerous of these drugs from the standpoint of 
habit formation and the creation of new addicts. 

Investigation into the question of the future status 
of drug addiction indicates that the evil is on the de- 
crease. Out of a total of 321 municipalities it was 
reported by the police officials of 287 that the proclivi- 
ties were declining, while in 34 cities an increase was 
noted. The increases were in the larger cities, while 
the decreases occurred in the smaller cities. 

Ever since the extent of the opium traffic began to 
make an impression on the philanthropic mind, con- 
certed efforts have been directed toward controlling 
the distribution and use of the drug. One object has 
been to prevent the utter debauch of the Chinese popu- 
lation, another to curb the increasing addiction to the 
drug by the inhabitants of the western hemisphere. 
In 1873 some 13,500,000 pounds of Indian opium went 
into China. In the nineties the value of the annual 
opium trade with China was estimated at $40,000,000. 

The Chinese government itself at last took action to 
prevent the enormous drain on its resources; but its 
efforts were fraught with difficulty, owing to the firmly 



236 THE STORY OF DRUGS 

entrenched monopolies that controlled the production 
and distribution of opium. Political considerations 
embarrassed the situation. 

Finally, representatives of the great powers met 
in convention at The Hague to discuss ways and means 
of treating the matter in hand from an international 
aspect. The Hague 'Convention has been more or 
less of a permanent affair. Consequent to its delibera- 
tions, the powers signatory thereto have adopted legis- 
lation affecting the dope evil within their respective 
jurisdictions, and the production of opium has been 
nominally abolished by the Chinese. 

In the United States, owing to the efforts of the late 
Hamilton Wright, a law, known as the Harrison Anti- 
Narcotic Act, was passed in 1914, controlling the im- 
portation, manufacture, and sale of opium and the opi- 
ates, and of coca leaves and their derivatives and prep- 
arations. The administration of the law has been 
markedly beneficial, and has caused no unreasonable 
hardship to the legitimate use of the drugs in medicine 
and surgery. 

Wrights untimely death was a calamity. Having 
lived in the East, where he had an opportunity to ob- 
serve conditions at first hand, he was fully alive to the 
narcotic problem. Recognition of his grasp of the 
situation and the advice and influence that he could 
give was conceded in the international counsels. There 
is an immense amount of regulatory enactment yet to be 
inaugurated, and the working out of the problems will 
demand the consideration of men of universal attain- 
ment, with the strength to make and carry out recom- 
mendations for the benefit of humanity at large. 



DOPE AND NOT DOPE 237 

Through all the congresses seeking to legislate on 
a problem affecting the personal habits of a people, 
it must be borne in mind that a medium that in its abuse 
is a menace may, when properly handled and used in 
moderation by an alien race, possess a certain ritualis- 
tic aspect, and that to meddle with it would be danger- 
ous, so that instead of being a benevolence it might 
prove a malevolence. Many careful observers con- 
sider that the moderate use of opium by the Chinese 
laborer is of no detriment to his well being. He might 
get along without it, but he derives a certain amount 
of satisfaction from his habit, just as the average 
Caucasian turns to his cigar or pipe of tobacco. 

One familiar with the extent of the use of narcotic 
drugs can easily visualize the upheaval that would oc- 
cur in South America if steps should be taken to de- 
prive the native population of the coca leaf, which has 
been bound up with the customs and religions of the 
race for countless generations. The Anglo-Saxon has 
never become addicted to coca-chewing as a racial 
habit. The "coke" habitue satisfies his craving with 
the hypodermic needle or a nasal snuff, using the hy- 
drochloride of oocain as the satiating agent. 

It is quite within reason that, if the Anglo-Saxon 
adopted coca-chewing, his reaction to the drug would 
be very different from that obtaining with the South 
American Indian. It is also probable that if the latter 
became addicted to the use of cocain through its intro- 
duction into the body by means of the hypodermic 
needle, or by the absorption attendant on the applica- 
tion of a concentrated form of the alkaloid to the mu- 
cous membrane, his reaction would be very different 



238 THE STORY OF DRUGS 

from that of the coca ingested through the alimentary 
canal. 

The immediate problem in China is the debauching 
of the population through the medium of morphin in 
some form or other. This form of addiction has de- 
veloped since the abolition of opium production in the 
country and the restrictions incident to the importa- 
tion from abroad. Morphin, however, is easily smug- 
gled into the country, and, furthermore, due to certain 
regulations in the administration of foreign post 
offices maintained in Chinese territory, the drug en- 
ters unmolested in quantities that it is impossible to 
estimate. The effect of morphin on the Chinaman is 
apparently different from that produced by the action 
of opium. 

We referred above to the prevalence of coca-chewing 
among the South American natives. This practice has 
been in vogue from the remotest antiquity. It is prob- 
able that the constant ingestion of the drug with the 
cocain which accompanies it produces a form of per- 
manent anesthesia. Whether or not this would act as 
a deterrent to the uplift of the race is a problem for 
the physiologist and the psychologist ; but if a type of 
passive anesthesia is produced by the absorption of 
cocain from the alimentary canal, it may be that an 
explanation is provided for the ability of the prehis- 
toric Inca to submit to the heroic operations on the 
skull that were noted in a previous chapter. 

In this connection it is in order to digress for a mo- 
ment to touch upon a new method of producing anes- 
thesia, practised with success by Baskerville and 
Gwathmey in New York. By means of enemas of 



DOPE AND NOT DOPE 239 

ether in solution with a bland oil, these experimen- 
talists have produced insensibility and conducted a 
large number of surgical operations with the same ease 
that is possible when the anesthesia is induced by inha- 
lation. None of the unpleasant after-effects of the 
ether, always attendant on an operation conducted in 
the customary way, occur when the new method is 
followed, and it is possible that a new era in the history 
of anesthesia is dawning. 

The citation of these experiences and the effects 
incident thereto has been made on account of its re- 
lation to the discussion of a possible analogous action 
of the coca leaf on the human physiology. Patholo- 
gists recognize that the action of a drug on the bodily 
processes as a whole is usually very different when 
administered by way of the mouth or the rectum than 
when injected directly into the blood-stream or inhaled 
through the respiratory tract. 

At the present time the immediate problem concern- 
ing the traffic in narcotic drugs is the control of 
smuggling and peddling operations'. The phase of the 
situation with an international significance is that 
which has to do with the smuggling into China of 
morphin salts made in the United States and Great 
Britain. In so far as our country is involved, it is 
thought that certain amendments to the Harrison law 
will curtail a portion of the responsibility to which we 
have been a party; but it will not prevent the leaks 
occurring through theft and other illicit practices. 

Salts of morphin and cocain are exported by our 
manufacturing chemists in accordance with the pre- 
scribed rules and regulations of the Harrison law, only 



240 THE STORY OF DRUGS 

to be diverted from legitimate use in the foreign land 
and smuggled back here through underground chan- 
nels. 

The methods adopted by the operators in the illicit 
traffic are many and devious. Morphin salts and co- 
cain of foreign manufacture are smuggled into this 
country in enormous quantities. American-made goods 
are exported through legitimate channels, only to re- 
turn via the underground route. Border-running and 
connivance with confederates at the steamship termi- 
nals is a lucrative occupation, and, though accompanied 
by considerable risk, results in the entry of many 
thousand ounces of smoking opium, the opiates, and 
cocain. 

Goods are brought in under cover concealed in auto- 
mobile tires, the hollow leg-bones of poultry, and 
barrels of vegetables and other food supplies. One 
large seizure of morphin sulphate shipped in from 
China was stuffed in the hollow legs of some Oriental 
bamboo chairs. 

The peddlers who supply the habitues with their 
daily allotment of dope are as cunning as the smug- 
glers. One resourceful individual concealed his wares, 
consisting of tablets of morphin sulphate, in a hollow 
crucifix split lengthwise and opening on a pivot. 
Another emulated an innocent book agent. He ambu- 
lated about town with his stock in trade under his arm, 
and when apprehended, the treatise was found to have 
the edges of the leaves and one of the covers glued 
together, with the body of the pages cut out, thus 
leaving a booklike box, innocent-looking and well 
adapted for his business. His outfit included several 




COCA BAG OF PREHISTORIC INCA FOUND WITH EXHUMED BODY 




OPIUM AS IT ENTERS COMMERCE 
Coca Leaves in Foregound 





The Same Book Open 



An Inoffensive Looking Book 
TRICKS OF THE DOPE PEDDLERS 



fc 4 




THE OPIUM LAYOUT OF THE ORIENTAL 





•:i 


1 






1 •* 


if 









ARTICLES AND INSTRUMENTS USED BY THE OCCIDENTAL ADDICT 



DOPE AND NOT DOPE 241 

bottles of morphin sulphate and powders of cocain. 

Many interesting subterfuges are employed for 
placing dope in the hands of habitues who are in con- 
finement and unable to make direct connection with 
their customary sources of supply. In one instance a 
prisoner, whose appetite for narcotics was acknowl- 
edged, appeared to be living a life of contentment and 
obtaining his palliative with a regularity that exasper- 
ated the watchful attendants. Finally he was caught 
in the act of chewing the pages of the letter which he 
received daily from his wife, and subsequent examina- 
tion of the unused sheets showed that they had been 
soaked in a solution of morphin sulphate and dried, 
previously to being incorporated into the wifely epistle. 

The legitimate distribution of the narcotic drugs 
is under fairly satisfactory control, owing to the in- 
telligently constructed laws framed under the auspices 
of The Hague conferees. There is, however, no limit 
set to the manufacture of morphin, codein, heroin, and 
cocain, and it is openly acknowledged that the quanti- 
ties produced far exceed the legitimate needs of 
medicine. Until there is some agreement among the 
nations as to the restrictions that can reasonably be 
placed upon the production and export of opium and 
coca, and the manufacture of their alkaloids and salts, 
there will be no relief from the troublesome problem of 
the narcotic addict which has disturbed the world for 
a century. 



CHAPTER XI 

SELF-MEDICATION THE FAMILY MEDICINE CHEST 

In writing a very good philosophy of life Chester- 
ton x says: 

1 think there are normal things that a normal man ought to 
do, as he sleeps or wakes or walks. One of them is to sing. 
Another is to dance. Another is to recite poetry if he likes 
it. Another is to be at ease and tolerably intimate with 
domestic animals. Another is to know quite common reme- 
dies for quite common maladies. 

Wilbert 2 believes that 

as an abstract thesis it would be fair to assume that, within 
certain limits, mature, otherwise sane persons have the right 
to select and take their own medicines. . . . The inherent 
right to self -medication is limited primarily by the broader 
and more comprehensive rights of the community at large. 
It is generally accepted that diseases that are recognized as 
being infectious or contagious involve matters of public 
policy, and the welfare of others will frequently, if not 
always, require that patients ill with such a disease be 
properly treated by authorized persons, and, if necessary, 
be isolated to prevent the spread of infection. 

The earliest attempts at remedying diseased con- 
ditions were by means of herbs. Primitive man un- 
doubtedly recognized the advantages of life in the 
open, with a well ventilated habitation, if he had any 

i A Miscellany of Men, 1912, Preface, X. 

2 Public Health Reports, vol. 30, No. 7, February 12, 191f». 

242 



SELF-MEDICATION 243 

at all, and free access to pure water. To quote Garri- 
son: 3 

The Indian knew, for example, the importance of keep- 
ing the skin, bowels, and kidneys open, and, to this end, 
the geyser, the warm spring, and the sweat-oven were his 
natural substitutes for a Turkish bath. Emesis or cathar- 
sis, followed by a vapor bath and a cold plunge, set off by 
a dose of willow-bark decoction (salicin), was the North 
American Indian's successful therapeutic scheme in the 
case of intermittent and remittent fevers; a vapor bath and 
cimicifuga were his mainstays against rheumatism. Like 
the ancient Babylonians, he had his fixed periods for ritual 
emesis and catharsis {e.g., the green-corn feast), much as 
our forefathers used zodiacal calendars for blood-letting. 
Massage was long known and practiced by the Indians, 
Japanese, Malays, and East Indians; hypnotism by the 
Hindus ; innoculation against smallpox by the Hindus, Per- 
sians, and Chinese. 

At this time there are, among the numerous schools 
of ideas relating to the treatment of disease, two that 
have been going round the circle in opposite directions 
and are about to come together. On the one hand are 
the believers in the effect of mental suggestion over 
the condition that we term disease. Some of the sects 
do not recognize the existence of disease, and even 
abhor the thought of using medicine for any purpose. 
On the other hand are a group of super-ethical medi- 
cal theorists and their innocent satellites who are 
steeped in the belief of medicine and medical tradi- 
tions, but who hold the use of drugs in disfavor, 
though they may, on occasion, prescribe calomel and 

a "History of Medicine," 1913, p. 22. 



244 THE STORY OF DRUGS 

strychnin, and perhaps employ ergot in an emergency 
at childbirth. They are known in the professional 
world as therapeutic nihilists. When they finally dis- 
pense with calomel, strychnin, and ergot, they will 
have met the mental suggestionists, and the circle will 
be complete in so far as the materia medica is con- 
cerned. Their pharmacopoeia will be a book of blank 
pages. 

But, regardless of the beliefs and experiences of 
these nltra schools, the typhoid and diphtheria mi- 
crobes still persist in attacking the population and tak- 
ing their annual toll; smallpox will break out unless 
prophylaxis by vaccination has been thorough ; people 
will expose themselves, catch pneumonia and a host of 
other ailments; and the ragweed pollen will annoy 
periodically during its midsummer frolic. These facts 
were appreciated by Wilbert, 4 who in his dissertation 
on self -medication says: 

The followers of cults or pathys who pride themselves 
on their abstinence from drugs frequently overlook the fact 
that foods, like drugs, may have a decided influence on the 
normal reactions of the human body, and that many ex- 
terior forces can produce changes in the normal physiological 
functions of the body, resulting, either directly or in- 
directly, in toxemias as profound as any produced by drugs. 

Fortunately, the rank and file of the medical pro- 
fession is made up of level-headed individuals whose 
common sense enables them to select and supply the 
best of the discoveries of all the schools ; and the rank 
and file of our population know when they are sick and 

4 Op. tit. 



SELF-MEDICATION 245 

in need of something to restore them to health; they 
know when they need the family doctor, and some of 
them know what to do for themselves to combat the 
simple ailments. 

Considered from one aspect, the human body is a 
vast chemical complex, made up of a very large number 
of different substances. Some of these are very simple 
in character, as, for example, sodium chloride, hydro- 
chloric acid, and water. Others, like the blood com- 
pounds and flesh proteins, are complicated in their 
structure. Between the two extremes there are nor- 
mally present a great variety of substances taking part 
in the make-up of the grey matter of the brain, the 
mineral structure of the skeleton, the nails, spinal cord, 
blood-serum, and digestive juices. 

The system also contains a quantity of individual 
chemical laboratories in the shape of vital glands, cre- 
ating continually certain necessities for the proper 
functioning of the chemical complex as a coordinated 
whole. Thus the liver is turning out a stream of bile 
that plays its part in flushing the alimentary canal; 
the pancreatic ducts are producing digestive juices 
for converting the ingested food into materials as- 
similable by the blood ; the salivary glands are genera- 
ting saliva with its accompanying diastase to provide 
moisture for the mouth and a digestive agent for our 
bread and other starchy foods. Then, there is the 
thyroid gland, the pituitary gland, the prostate, and 
many others, all fulfilling their functions in the intri- 
cate chemical system. 

The proportional amounts of these thousands of 
chemical substances and the vigor and output of the 



246 THE STORY OF DRUGS 

vital laboratories differ with each individual, and that 
is one reason why no two people are alike and human 
nature is such an interesting study. 

When the adjustment of this chemical complex is 
properly coordinated to the individual, when there is 
no mechanical disruption, such as a broken bone or a 
dislocated joint, when the mental condition is placid, 
then there is perfect health. But if, for any reason, 
the system becomes discordant in its functioning, if 
there develops a paucity in some of the essential 
chemical individuals, or a foreign member obtains a 
foothold, then a condition of discomfort is set up and 
the individual becomes ill. 

In order to bring about a restoration to health, it 
is desirable to restore the chemical equilibrium of the 
individual. Since no two people ever display the same 
equilibrium, it stands to reason that they will differ in 
the response that they manifest on being treated for an 
apparently identical ailment. For instance, one per- 
son suffering from chronic constipation may react 
satisfactorily to a saline cathartic, while another, with 
apparently the same ailment, will show no response to 
the salines, but will be cured through the agency of 
cascara or podophyllum. 

Garrison 5 well says : ' i The dynamic effect of a 
drug upon a patient's body depends as much upon the 
delicate chemical adjustment of that body as upon the 
composition of the drug itself.' ' 

Again to quote Wilbert: 6 "The recognition of the 

e Op. cit., p. 21. 
« Op. at. 



SELF-MEDICATION 247 

inherent rights of an individual to take or to refuse to 
take a medicine or other remedy for the prevention or 
the treatment of any given disorder is, of necessity, 
based on the assumption that the individual is reason- 
ably well informed regarding the nature of an in- 
fectious disease and appreciates the possibilities, uses, 
and limitations of available remedies and the 
variability of the action of medicines on the human 
organism." 

Self-medication contemplates more than taking 
medicine for diseased conditions: it includes the pro- 
phylaxis that is necessary to be observed in aborting 
the onset of many preventable ailments. According to 
the Chinese system of medical attention, the physician 
is paid to keep his client well, not to bring him back 
to a state of health. Hand in hand with this, there 
should be a knowledge of the essentials of personal 
hygiene ; of the means for protection against the com- 
mon forms of vermin; of the cautions to be observed 
after undue strain or exposure ; of the proper food to 
eat and of what constitutes a well balanced diet. Fur- 
thermore, intelligent self-medication recognizes that 
certain diseases should be handled only with the advice 
and assistance of a skilled physician. 

The mental attitude of the individual plays an im- 
portant part in the handling of certain abnormal con- 
ditions, notably those of the nervous system. Mental 
irritation or depression is a common cause of dyspepsia 
and biliousness. If the contributing factor is removed 
or 'the environment changed, normalcy usually results. 
The principle of psychotherapy now has an established 



248 THE STORY OF DRUGS 

footing in medicine, but its application is limited. It 
cannot neutralize the toxin of diphtheria, nor combat 
a specific infection. 

The intelligent individual of to-day recognizes the 
importance of keeping his scalp as free as possible 
from dandruff and ordinary dirt by the free use of 
shampoo soaps and water and the application from 
time to time of a good hair tonic. If accumulations 
develop in the nasal passages, they should be flushed 
at regular intervals with a bland saline wash or non- 
irritant antiseptic, thereby removing a source of in- 
fection and permitting the unobstructed access of air 
to the lungs. If the mucous membrane of the eyes 
becomes irritated through the accidental ingress of a 
foreign substance or through exposure to wind or other 
cause, the acute condition usually may be relieved by 
the application of boric acid dissolved either in water 
alone or in normal salt solution. Should the inflamma- 
tion be due to some acid-reacting substance, as, for ex- 
ample, vinegar or lemon- juice, a preliminary douching 
with sodium bicarbonate (cooking soda) should precede 
the boric acid. 

The teeth should receive daily attention, both sides 
being scrubbed by an up-and-down movement, not 
crosswise, employing a powder or paste indicated by 
the character of the oral secretions, and otherwise by 
the taste of the individual. Rinsing the mouth and 
gargling as far back as possible with an approved 
antiseptic wash is good practice on rising and retiring, 
while a gentle massage of the gums with a rubber cot 
in the presence of the same agent will usually serve to 
keep them bright and firm, thus warding off or control- 



SELF-MEDICATION 249 

ling the ogre of pyorrhea. Chapped lips may be re- 
lieved by the application of an emollient cream, and 
ordinary cold-sores and fever-blisters by camphocene 
or similar remedy. 

A few minutes ' attention daily to the hands and feet 
will usually suffice to keep them in good condition ; but 
if one is determined to wear ill-fitting shoes, it will be 
found impossible to avoid disagreeable corns and cal- 
luses. The presence of these abnormal excresences 
may be relieved by changing the shape of the shoe to 
one adapted to the foot, and then applying a reliable 
salve designed for the purpose. Most of these salves 
feature salicylic acid and cannabis sativa, and if ap- 
plied consistently the corn or callus will be perma- 
nently removed. Bruises, and especially cuts, on the 
feet and legs should be treated with iodin solution and 
afterward wrapped in a smothering of aristol or some 
equally good antiseptic until treated. Cuts and lacer- 
ations on the hands and fingers should receive the same 
attention, and this as speedily as possible after the 
accident. Foreign matter should not be permitted to 
accumulate under the nails, especially those of the 
fingers, and hang-nails should be removed by means 
of small sharp scissors. If the cuticle is hard and 
irregular, or if an irritation develops at the base of 
the nail, due to splitting or pulling away of the cuticle, 
the application of Cutex or some similar harmless 
specialty will usually remedy the condition within a 
day or two. Soap and water should be freely applied 
before eating and after exposure to doubtful conditions 
where infection is suspected. 

The importance of bodily bathing and regularity in 



250 THE STORY OF DRUGS 

personal habits is apparent to everyone, and are fea- 
tures of the usual scheme of living, which also recog- 
nizes that there is a necessary period for rest and 
exercise. A properly ordered scheme also contem- 
plates due attention to the character of the food that 
should be selected to provide a diet well balanced with 
respect to its energizing and nutritional value. 

These simple suggestions in the matter of personal 
hygiene are obviously just as important in the observ- 
ance as a knowledge of what to do when the equilibrium 
becomes unbalanced and sickness results. They con- 
stitute what may be termed the prophylactic phase of 
self-medication. 

Before we take up the discussion of the other phase 
of the subject, it is in order to refer to the relation of 
certain household pests to the public health, and there- 
fore to the individual. These sources of infection are 
liabilities which, unless controlled, may upset the har- 
mony of an otherwise perfect scheme of living and the 
good health consequent thereto. For several years it 
has been the custom to conduct intensive campaigns 
of destruction against the house-fly and its numerous 
cousins, which thrive in such profusion during the 
warm weather. These campaigns have a certain value 
in directing attention to the relation of the fly to dis- 
ease and as a means for distributing infection, but they 
fall short of permanent accomplishment, because too 
little stress is laid on the life history of the insect by 
showing that if its extermination is to take place its 
breeding-places must be eliminated. The folly has 
been the offering of prizes to individuals bringing in 



SELF-MEDICATION 251 

the greatest number of dead flies ; for by so doing the 
unscrupulous have developed lucrative fly farms, to 
the chagrin of the altruistic citizens conducting the 
campaigns, for whom loss of faith in human nature 
is only the natural consequence. The rewards should 
go, not to those who spend their time bringing in car- 
cases of dead flies, but to those who can show the 
elimination of the greatest number of propagating- 
grounds. 

Flies should be prevented from gaining access to any 
interior, especially any place where food is prepared 
and served. They are prolific mediums for the spread 
of disease. No kind of filth, no matter how morbid, 
possesses anything but delight to these insects, and 
from it they wing their way to the kitchen and dining- 
room, spreading their virulent accretions wherever 
they alight. The householder owes it to himself and 
his family to eliminate the danger of this source of in- 
fection, which can easily be accomplished by means of 
proper screening. 

As an illustration of the relation of the fly to an 
infected food supply, we will cite the experience of 
an ice-cream manufacturer whose output had been the 
subject of adverse criticism. His process involved 
the customary procedures of large-scale production: 
first mixing the cream, pasteurizing the mix, running 
it through an homogenizer where the size of fat par- 
ticles is reduced to an irreducible minimum ; and so on 
to the cooling-vats, from which the various batches are 
sweetened and flavored before the final operation of 
freezing. If pasteurization is efficient, undesirable 



252 THE STORY OF DRUGS 

microbes are destroyed, and unless contamination oc- 
curs at a subsequent stage of manufacture, the cream 
will be wholesome. Inspection of the plant in question 
revealed the fact that the manufacturer was running 
the pasteurizer with the lids open, and that floating 
around in the warm cream were hundreds of dead 
flies. Outside the unscreened windows, a neighbor- 
ing stable with a flourishing manure pile explained 
the abundance of the insects. Their dead bodies, with 
the accompanying microbic spores, passed into the 
homogenizer with the cream, and later in the cooling- 
vats the conditions were right for the spores and un- 
killed bacteria to develop a vigorous growth. After 
the windows were properly screened, operations were 
suspended while the interior of the apparatus and pipe- 
lines were subjected to a treatment of superheated 
steam. Since then the quality of the ice-cream has 
been above reproach. 

Although the favorite breeding-ground of the house- 
fly is horse manure, it is also partial to the human ex- 
crement, and when neither is available, it selects ne- 
glected garbage, decaying vegetable and animal mater- 
ials, especially the organic material on the dumping- 
grounds. It becomes a dangerous medium for carry- 
ing the germs of intestinal diseases such as typhoid 
fever, cholera, dysentery, and infantile diarrhea. 

While proper screening will, in a measure, prevent 
the access of the house-fly to the interior of a dwelling, 
and the consistent use of fly-paper, powders, poisons, 
and traps will reduce to a minimum those that may 
enter through carelessness, the most logical method of 
abating the fly nuisance is the elimination or treat- 



SELF-MEDICATION 253 

ment of all breeding-places. To quote Howard 7 : "It 
would appear from what is known of the life history 
and habits of the common house-fly that it is perfectly 
feasible for cities and towns to reduce the numbers 
of these annoying and dangerous insects so greatly 
as to render them of comparatively slight account." 
Complete details for controlling (these pests are in- 
cluded in the bulletin from which this paragraph is 
taken. It should be in the hands of every householder, 
and especially of those who are obliged to deal with 
accumulations of horse manure and who are desirous 
of aiding in the reduction of the fly nuisance, both for 
their own comfort and for the benefit of the community 
at large. 

In the insect world, next to the house-fly, the mos- 
quito is the most prolific factor in the spread of dis- 
ease. There are many species of mosquitoes, probably 
a thousand or more all over 'the world, most of which 
are annoying because of their irritating stings. The 
anopheline mosquito is now known to be definitely re- 
lated to the spread of malaria, and the aedes (formerly 
stegomyia) to yellow fever. It has been asserted that 
the downfall of the Eoman Empire was due indirectly 
to the malarial mosquito. 

An interesting and instructive account of the life 
histories of these insects, with suggestions for their 
control, is detailed by Howard in two recent publica- 
tions. 8 

Malaria is caused by parasites in the blood which feed 
upon the red corpuscles. The disease is transmitted 

7 "The House-Fly," United States Department of Agriculture, Farm- 
er's Bulletin 851, p. 13. 

a Farmers' Bulletin 450, United States Department of Agriculture. 



254 THE STOEY OF DRUGS 

from one person to another through the medium of 
the anopheline mosquito. To quote Howard again 9 

When one of these anopheline mosquitoes, which carries 
malaria, happens to feed on a patient whose blood contains 
parasites, these are sucked, with the blood, into the mos- 
quito's stomach. 

If the sexual forms of the parasites are present, those of 
opposite sexes at once unite. The parasite now under- 
goes certain changes in the mosquito's stomach. It passes 
through the stomach wall, and finally affixes itself to its 
outer surface. 

Here it grows very considerably, and, after a week under 
favorable conditions, produces a large number of spores. 

These spores, thus entering the general body cavity of the 
mosquito, find their way into the salivary glands. These 
glands secrete the irritating fluid injected under the human 
skin when the mosquito begins to feed. 

Thus, when one of these mosquitoes, which has fed upon a 
malarial patient containing the sexual forms of the para- 
sites, bites, after a week, another person, it injects these 
spores together with its saliva under his skin and generally 
into his blood. 

These spores now cause, or may cause, infection or re- 
infection in this second person. 

Thus the parasites of malaria pass from men to certain 
mosquitoes, and back from these mosquitoes to men. 

Malarial fever is then an infectious disease, which is 
carried from the sick to the healthy by anopheline mos- 
quitoes, and only in this way can it be contracted. . . . 

The mosquitoes which carry these parasites, however, breed 
in marshes or in marshy pools and streams. 

Issuing from these breeding-places, they enter near-by 
houses and feed upon the inmates, mostly at night, biting 

s Farmers' Bulletin 547, United States Department of Agriculture. 



SELF-MEDICATION 255 

first one and then others, and living for weeks or months. 

If an infected person happens to be present in any of 
these houses, the anopheline mosquitoes biting him will also 
become infected, and the disease is likely, ultimately, to be 
carried by these mosquitoes to others and to neighboring 
houses. 

Thus a whole neighborhood soon becomes infected, and the 
locality is called malarious. In such localities it is easy to 
find the parasites of malaria in the proper mosquitoes. 
Sometimes 25 per cent, or more of them are found to be 
infected. 

In malarious localities the anopheline mosquitoes bite the 
healthy new-born children and infect many of them. 

Such children, if not thoroughly treated, may remain in- 
fected for years. They may become anemic and possess 
enlarged spleens, and, of course, may spread the infection 
to others. 

In malarious localities almost every child has been found 
to contain the parasites of malaria or to possess an enlarged 
spleen. 

In such a locality, therefore, the infection is constantly 
passed on by means of the mosquitoes from the older chil- 
dren or from adults to the newly born infants, so that the 
locality may remain malarious for very many years, in fact 
indefinitely. 

The anopheline mosquitoes are found in both the 
Northern and the Southern 'States. They may be dis- 
tinguished from most of our other mosquitoes by the 
fact that their wings are more or less spotted, and that 
in resting on the wall their bodies incline away from the 
wall at an angle, while with others the body is usually 
parallel to the wall. 

Aedes calopus, the yellow-fever mosquito, is a trop- 
ical species. It is carried, however, to points remote 



/ 



256 THE STORY OF DRUGS 

from its natural habitat, both by ships and railway car- 
riages, thus explaining the outbreaks of yellow fever 
in Philadelphia and other Northern cities. It trans- 
mits yellow fever from a person sick with the disease 
to another yet uninfected in about the same way that 
the anopheline mosquito carries the malarial parasite. 
To become infected the mosquito must take blood from 
a yellow-fever patient in the first two or three days of 
the disease. After sucking the blood it cannot trans- 
mit the disease by biting one non-immune to yellow- 
fever for a period of eleven days. After this time the 
mosquito is a menace as long as it lives. 

The yellow-fever mosquito is a small insect compared 
to the anopheline. It is strikingly marked, but must 
be viewed through a lens to reveal its full beauty. The 
legs are banded alternately with black and pure white, 
and the long palpi 10 of the male show the .same suc- 
cession of color bands. Howard says : 

The yellow-fever mosquito is essentially a town mosquito, 
and the larvae are found practically exclusively in artificial 
receptacles in and about houses. It can be said that its 
larvae are never found in swamps, in pools, or even in tem- 
porary puddles, even when these are in close proximity to 
houses. In the tropics the large earthen jars in which 
drinking-water is kept are the most frequent and unfailing 
habitat of the larvae. Rain-water barrels are abundant 
breeding-places. Rain-water tanks, so universally behind 
the houses in Southern cities like New Orleans, Galveston, 
and Mobile, are the source of most abundant supplies of 
these mosquitoes. The larvae are also found in sagging 

io Palpi are the mouth feelers of the mosquito; fern-like appearing 
appendages on either side of the beak. 



SELF-MEDICATION 257 

gutters containing rain water, in tin cans, in cess-pools, 
horse-troughs, in water-closet tanks, in the drain-traps of 
stationary wash-stands, in the urns in cemeteries, in the 
holy-water fonts in churches, in pools accumulating under 
the water-tanks, in water-pans in the chicken-yards, and 
in the water receptacles of grindstones. 

It is obvious that the individual householder should 
observe every preventive measure possible to avoid 
infection through the agency of the fly and the mos- 
quito. Proper screening of the dwelling is essential. 
When exposed to their annoyances in the open, the use 
of repellents, such as oil of citronella or pennyroyal, 
will keep them at a distance, and temporary screens or 
netting should always have a prominent place in the 
camping or traveling outfit. Very fine mesh screen is 
necessary to keep out the yellow-fever mosquito. 

The elimination of these disease-carriers is an under- 
taking with which the individual cannot possibly cope 
single-handed. It is for the community to adopt a 
policy of welfare to be consistently followed, not for 
a few short weeks in the summer under the slogan of 
' ' Swat the fly," but throughout the entire year and 
thereafter until the breeding-places have been cleared 
away. 

In the general scheme of the prophylaxis it is 
important to realize and provide against the potential 
dangers attached to the rodent population. By rodent 
is meant not only the common rat and house mouse, but 
the ground-squirrel, woodchuck, and some of our native 
wood and swamp rats, with which the ordinary house- 
holder is usually unfamiliar. These creatures act as 



258 THE STORY OF DRUGS 

hosts for certain parasites, usually fleas and ticks, 
which spread the germs of bubonic and pneumonic 
plague, and Rocky Mountain spotted fever. 

The plague is transmitted by the flea from rat to rat, 
and from rat to man. When the plague bacilli are 
found chiefly in the glands, the type of disease is known 
as bubonic plague ; when localized in the lungs, we have 
pneumonic plague. The latter is a very virulent and 
dangerous form, for it can be transmitted from man 
to man by the breath. 

The first outbreak of bubonic plague in the United 
States appears to have been in San Francisco in 1900. 
It continued until 1904, when it became quiescent, only 
to break out again in 1907. Up to that time it had con- 
fined itself to the rats of that district, but in 1907 it 
spread to the ground-squirrels. The disease is now 
established among the rodents of that section of the 
Western coast. 

It is a peculiar disease, for it appears to have long 
periods of quiescence, during which, though it exis.ts 
among the rodent carriers, there is little sign of it 
among human beings. Then it appears to gather an 
extraordinary virulence, suddenly spreading in 
epidemic form over great areas with amazing rapidity. 
In the past untold millions have lost their lives through 
this terrible scourge. Europe was devastated by it in 
the fourteenth century, causing the death of some 
25,000,000 persons, including from two thirds to three 
fourths of the population of several countries. The 
abundance of house rats in a large part of the United 
States, and the still greater number of our native 
rodents, provide the necessary medium* for an out- 



SELF-MEDICATION 259 

break of plague that would be appalling in its de- 
struction of human life. 

Eocky Mountain spotted fever is transmitted to 
human beings through the medium of a species of tick 
known in the scientific world as Dermacentor 
venustus. These ticks infest the rodents and domes- 
tic stock of the Northwest, especially in Montana. 
Only a small percentage of the ticks are infected, and 
thus people may be bitten many times without bad 
results. 

Rats and mice are loathsome creatures, without a 
single redeeming quality. To a large extent they are 
parasites subsisting on the unprotected food supplies 
of man, as well as on the refuse that he leaves care- 
lessly exposed. What they do not eat they spoil. In 
the United 'States rats and mice each year destroy 
crops and other property valued at $200,000,000. The 
rat is a lover of filth, and from its detestable home it 
carries disease germs from house to house, polluting 
the food of human beings and spreading disease in its 
path. 

Household supplies should be protected from rats 
and mice, as little progress can be made in ridding the 
premises of these animals as long as they have access 
to supplies of food. Food should be placed in inex- 
pensive rat-proof containers covered with wire netting, 
if necessary. Garbage should be stored in tightly 
covered receptacles until collected, or it should be 
burned where there is no efficient system of public dis- 
posal. 

The individual household should adopt every pre- 
caution possible to avoid the danger of infection from 



260 THE STORY OF DRUGS 

rodents, destroying them whenever they have taken up 
their abode on the premises. It is not enough to keep 
them out of the house ; they should be routed from the 
stable, hen-house, and other out-buildings, and if a 
colony is established in the neighborhood, cooperation 
should be obtained, if necessary, to destroy it. The 
significance of the relation of these creatures to the 
state of health of a household or a community must be 
apparent, and by keeping them under control the 
danger of exposure to several menacing diseases may 
be avoided. Lantz u believes that "if half the money 
now spent in feeding and fighting rats could be ex- 
pended in wisely planned and well executed cooperative 
efforts for rat repression, it would be possible, within a 
few years, nearly to rid the country of its worst 
animal pest, to reduce losses from its depredations by 
at least 90 per cent., and to free the land completely 
from the fear of bubonic plague." 12 

In the preceding paragraphs an attempt has been 
made to indicate the importance of the general care of 
the home and the person, and the general relation of 
their influence on the health of the individual and his 
family. The treatment of the subject in this way 
naturally involved the connection between the spread 
of disease and some of our more common forms of 
insect and animal life. We have thus discussed briefly 
the general features of personal hygiene and the 
desirability of excluding from our households and com- 
munities those carriers of disease that are always 

11 United States Department of Agriculture, Separate from Year 
Book No. 725; United States Department of Agriculture, Farmers' 
Bulletin 896. "House Rats and Mice." 

12 England passed the Rat and Mouse Destruction Act in 1920. 



SELF-MEDICATION 261 

potential sources of danger. We now pass on to the 
phase of self -medication that involves the part which 
the individual may reasonably play when confronted 
with a diseased condition actually established. 

Bearing in mind the postulate cited by Wilbert at the 
outset of this chapter, the first and perhaps the most 
important feature for the individual to determine is 
what maladies should not be handled exclusively, and 
in some cases not at all, by the self-administration of 
drugs. Included in the list should be mentioned the 
infectious diseases — scarlet fever, measles, diptheria, 
meningitis, infantile paralysis, or anterior poliomye- 
litis, typhoid fever, influenza, pneumonia, erysipelas, 
tetanus, malaria, and tuberculosis or consumption; 
certain diseases of the gastro-intestinal tract, such as 
acute dysentry, cholera, and ulcers ; albuminaria, when 
a symptom of chronic nephritis or Bright 's disease; 
uremia, diabetes, and in general any chronic condition 
of the kidneys; disturbances of the heart; pernicious 
anemia, leukemia, and, in fact any impairment of the 
blood-stream the causes of which are obscure ; epilepsy 
and chorea or St. Vitus 's dance; the so-called social 
diseases — syphilis, gonorrhea, and chancroid; cancer 
and other morbid growths. 

The necessity for isolation of infectious diseases, 
barring malaria, erysipelas, tetanus, and perhaps 
tuberculosis, is obvious. The only reasonable treat- 
ment for diphtheria is the use of antitoxin, and the same 
may be said of tetanus, the injections against the latter 
being made as soon as exposure is suspected. Typhoid 
requires careful handling, and the attention of a doctor 
should be called to the desirability of intestinal anti- 



262 THE STORY OF DRUGS 

septics, such as acetozone and alphozone, which have 
been proved, after wide experience, to alleviate the 
acute symptoms occurring in the bowels and materially 
shorten the duration of the attack. Malaria, when 
established, yields to the specific action of quinin on the 
parasites, but due care ought to be exercised against 
exposing oneself to the anopheline mosquito, which, 
as we have already observed, is the only way the dis- 
ease can be carried from one person to another. 

Mumps is an infectious malady that, in the case of 
young children, requires little medical attention, the 
chief concern being isolation from others and avoidance 
of exposure to dampness and temperature extremes. 
If the swelling becomes sufficiently pronounced to cause 
distress to the sufferer when moving about, the glands 
may be supported by means of a bandage running 
under the chin and joined on top of the head, with soft 
pads of absorbent cotton directly over the swellings. 
From time to time gentle applications of warm olive 
or cotton-seed oil will prove beneficial in relaxing the 
tension of the stretched skin. In cases of adults and 
often in young boys, the heart requires careful watch- 
ing, and in males where the sexual functions have been 
established the testicles are prone to become consider- 
ably enlarged. Both conditions need medical atten- 
tion. 

The universal prevalence of the social diseases is 
due, in a large part, to the obscurity with which they 
have been veiled by the unwritten custom of the pop- 
ulation of what we are pleased to call the intelligent 
nations. This silence had its pernicious effect, not 
only in keeping from the uninitiated a knowledge that 



SELF-MEDICATION 263 

those diseases existed prior to his or her acquiring 
them, but also in tending to keep the sufferer from re- 
ceiving proper medical treatment through a sense of 
false pride and shame. Fortunately for humanity, the 
chrysalis of enlightment is beginning to burst forth 
from its cocoon of ignorance, and information that 
was taboo a decade ago is now freely disseminated and 
discussed. With gonorrhea and syphilis, as with ma- 
laria and typhoid, the best way to handle these dis- 
eases is not to acquire them; and it is within the 
province of each individual to do his part in this mat- 
ter of prophylaxis. While gonorrhea is generally 
acquired during sexual intercourse, syphilis is often 
contracted by contact other than between the genera- 
tive organs, particularly by carelessness in using a 
common towel, drinking cup, or toilet. When ex- 
posure is suspected, the individual should immediately 
seek medical advice and institute the customary 
abortive measures. When actually smitten, no delay 
should occur in submitting to a course of curative 
treatments. Proper instruction of the younger gen- 
eration in the home and school during the age of in- 
quiry, and before the sexual development has pro- 
ceeded to completion, will go a long way toward 
lessening the ravages of the social diseases. In this 
connection every parent and instructor should obtain 
from the American Medical Association a series of 
pamphlets 13 dealing with the subject of the venereal 
peril, and containing instructions to the younger 
generation as to their later functions in life. They 

is "The Boy's Venereal Peril"; pamphlets by Dr. Winfield I. Hall: 
"John's Vacation Chums," "Life Problems," "The Doctor's Daughter." 



264 THE STORY OF DRUGS 

are sold virtually at cost and should be in the hands of 
everyone. 

Turning now to the matter of treatment of some of 
the simpler ailments that are of common occurrence, 
it is apparent that it is common practice for the aver- 
age householder to prescribe for himself and his 
family remedies for controlling colds, headaches, in- 
digestion, constipation, and rheumatism. In many 
instances he is the best judge of his probable reactions 
to his favorite treatment. To rely solely on self -med- 
ication for handling the conditions induced by these 
ailments, or to remove the causes of which they may 
be only symptoms, is a matter that can only be con- 
demned, especially if a chronic phase develops. 

Colds may result from a variety of causes; often 
they are predisposed because the tonsils are infected, 
or because of a run-down condition of the system. 
Adjunctive treatment is often a necessary accompani- 
ment of the measures taken to remedy the acute symp- 
toms. But the family medicine-chest should contain 
a full complement of well tried preparations for com- 
bating a sudden onset of coryza or cold in the head, 
for relieving the cough, the sore throat, pain in the 
chest, and other conditions that feature various types 
of cold. This is especially important where the physi- 
cian is beyond immediate call, or where the occupation 
of the individual subjects him to exposure of the 
extremes of the elements or to the strains of heavy 
labor. 

Headache is usually induced by some disturbance of 
the system, and it is obvious that a rational treatment 
contemplates the removal of the predisposing cause. 



SELF-MEDICATION 265 

However, there is no reason why a person should sub- 
ject himself to the discomfort of an acute headache 
while awaiting the opportunity to have the cause deter- 
mined, especially when quick relief may be readily 
obtained from numerous available remedies. When 
headache has been induced by some unusual situation, 
such as excessive strain, improper eating, confinement 
in a poorly ventilated room, sudden onset of a simple 
cold, or the like, it will yield to the treatment and not 
recur. But if one is subject to regular attacks at fre- 
quent intervals, a deeper cause is indicated and steps 
should be taken to remove it. Headache may come 
from auto-intoxication occasioned by intestinal and 
liver disturbances, or from improper functioning of 
the kidneys, anemia, derangement of heart action, ab- 
normal conditions in the ears and nose, neuralgia, eye- 
strain, syphilis, or tumors. 

Eheumatism is actually a vague term, though to the 
average person it means a subtle and indeterminate 
condition accompanied by a pain in the joints or mus- 
cles. In reality there are several forms of rheuma- 
tism, some of which are secondary to gonorrheal and 
other infections, thus requiring the assistance of 
skilled medical aid in handling. Acute articular rheu- 
matism is an infectious condition of the joints, not 
necessarily serious in the adult, and which, if there 
are no secondary conditions, usually yields to the ordi- 
nary " rheumatism' ' remedies. In children this 
disease must be carefully watched on account of its 
tendency to affect the heart. When the trouble be- 
comes chronic, metabolic disturbances may be sus- 
pected ; in fact, no treatment will be successful unless 



266 THE STORY OF DRUGS 

the digestive organs and kidneys are functioning nor- 
mally. Gout is no longer considered a rheumatic con- 
dition. It appears to be directly associated with the 
inability to assimilate certain constituents common to 
flesh foods ; hence final relief must be sought through 
a regulated diet, arranged so as to provide the neces- 
sary quantity of energy and nutrition from sources 
other than meats and flesh. The aches and pains ac- 
companying rheumatic conditions will be relieved to 
a certain extent by local applications of warm lin- 
iments and embrocations, the affected person treating 
himself or aided by some member of the family, as 
occasion warrants. Persons with rheumatic tenden- 
cies should, if possible, avoid exposure to sudden ex- 
tremes of cold and dampness, as well as the severe 
strains of the parts subject to attack by the malady. 
Neuritis, though primarily an. affection of the nerv- 
ous system, often accompanies rheumatism. It may 
occur from straining or injuring the nerves of an arm. 
Cranking an automobile, or even throwing in the gear- 
lever, will sometimes bring about a well developed 
neuritis. It is induced also by alcohol or tobacco 
poisoning, and by the same disturbances that cause 
chronic arthritis, rheumatism, and gout. When the 
functions of the kidneys and the alimentary canal have 
been restored to their proper equilibrium, the system 
purged of any causative poisons, and the conditions 
producing the strain or injury eliminated, the sufferer 
will be well on the way to permanent relief. The medi- 
cal treatment is similar to that employed in handling 
acute rheumatism. Local applications will relieve the 
intense pain when it becomes unbearable, while rest 



SELF-MEDICATION 267 

and sleep can be obtained with the aid of the bromides 
or veronal. The use of hot salt bags in contact with 
the arm, or in fact any part of the body affected by 
rheumatic pains, has a wonderfully soothing effect, and 
when applied on retiring will often produce a relaxa- 
tion followed by peaceful slumber. 

Neuralgia, also associated with the nervous system, 
often accompanies rheumatism. It is brought about, 
however, by a great many other conditions, which 
ought to receive proper treatment before its perman- 
ent removal may be anticipated. Home remedies may 
be relied upon to bring relief from the acute symptoms, 
just as they aid in relieving neuritis and in soothing 
the nerve-racking tortures of rheumatism ; but if per- 
manent recovery is delayed the deeper-seated in- 
fluence must be removed. 

Indigestion is one of the most unpleasant joy-killers 
to which the ordinarily well man is subject. Unless 
it becomes too obnoxious, it is usually endured as an 
annoyance, and treated as a natural consequence of the 
daily routine. The sufferer means to reform his 
habits some day. His intentions are determined while 
an attack is on, but when the discomfort passes and 
temptation again beckons, forgetting all his good res- 
olutions, he fills himself with the medium for another 
round of discomfort. Hence the shelves of the drug- 
gists are replete with brands of pills, tablets, powders, 
and elixirs without end for alleviating the aches and 
pains of the abused stomachs of the nation's people. 

Carelessness in the matter of diet is not the only 
cause of indigestion. It often happens that the 
normal digestive functions are impaired, and, unless 



268 THE STORY OF DRUGS 

a general building up of the system will correct the 
dereliction, the missing element must be regularly 
supplied, or the patient should eliminate from his diet 
the types of food that cause the trouble. Digestion 
begins in the mouth, where the diastatic ferment of 
the saliva starts the conversion of the starchy foods 
into sugars preparatory for their ingestion into the 
system. In the stomach the pepsin, generated in the 
walls of that organ, reduces the complex proteins into 
simple nitrogenous bodies, which later in the intestines 
are to be assimilated into the blood-stream and carried 
as building agents to all parts of the body. The pan- 
creatic juice completes the digestive process in the in- 
testines, where the fatty portions of the food and any 
unchanged starches are broken up into simpler and 
metabolizable substances. Hence, when it is indicated 
that there is something wrong with the digestive func- 
tion, it is important to determine the missing element 
in order to provide the proper artificial substitutes. 
Indigestion may be affected by, or even mistaken for, 
constipation in some form, and this should not be for- 
gotten when attempting to bring about a restoration 
to health. 

The usual run of complex digestive remedies pro- 
vide most of the elements for the correction of dys- 
pepsia due to the lack of any of the essentials cited, 
and may in addition contain a group of valuable agents 
for toning up the glands that secrete the digestive 
juices and eliminatory liquids. 

Lack of attention to the diet, impaired digestive 
functions, or overloading of the stomach bring about 
the conditions characterizing biliousness, a state of the 



SELF-MEDICATION 269 

system with which we are all familiar. It may show 
varying symptoms in different individuals; but there 
is usually headache or dizziness, languor, general dis- 
comfort, unpleasant taste in the mouth, and perhaps a 
yellowing of the skin and whites of the eyes. Consti- 
pation develops, and, unless treatment is instituted 
when the early stages are manifested, the attack cul- 
minates in a sick headache, with the discomforts that 
characterize it. 

There are thousands of preparations designed to 
prevent and relieve biliousness and constipation. 
They usually present, in some combination or other, 
the well known laxative drugs, liver stimulants, and 
bitter tonics, but out of the maze of formulas one will 
usually settle on a favorite combination that gives 
him the relief he seeks. Some people depend entirely 
on calomel, others on the saline cathartics, while the 
vast legion of mixed remedies composed of cascara, 
podophyllum, aloin, senna, belladonna, nux vomica, 
strychnin, in one combination or another, attests to the 
happy results attending their use. 

Constipation is, as we have observed in a previous 
chapter, the national ailment, being a feature not only 
of the disorders we have just discussed, but resulting 
from the sedentary life of a great mass of the popula- 
tion whose only exercise consists in running for the 
street-car or suburban train, or steering an automobile. 
Laziness and a false idea of modesty are frequent 
causes. It is also due to an insufficient supply of the 
liquids generated for the purpose of promoting elimin- 
ation, to muscular weakness, to a disrupted nerve ac- 
tion affecting the lower intestine, and to other derange- 



270 THE STORY OF DRUGS 

ments of the system. It may be produced by an over- 
indulgence in certain kinds of constipating foods, or 
from a diet lacking in bulk, coarse ingredients, fruit, 
and fresh vegetables. 

Where the cause is an artificial one, it should be 
removed or the lacking elements supplied. Regular- 
ity of habits is of prime importance, and in this en- 
lightened age there is no excuse for neglecting atten- 
tion to the natural functions when the necessity is 
manifest. 

To quote Hare ; 14 

The use of drugs for the relief of constipation is capable 
of division into two parts: first, the employment of remedies 
to unload the bowel, which has become filled; second, the 
use of drugs which will so influence the intestines as to 
cause evacuation and produce normal activity, or, in other 
words, drugs which will cure the tendency instead of giv- 
ing temporary relief. Of the first class we find the various 
purgative salts, jalap, colocynth, senna, mercury, castor oil, 
and rhubarb; of the second class, aloes, cascara sagrada, 
phenolphthalein, rhamnus frangula (buckthorn), phosphate 
of sodium, and small doses of podophyllin. The physician 
should bear in mind that defecation is a normal physi- 
ological act which must be continued all through life, and 
it is almost as foolish to stimulate the bowel continuously 
to peristalsis as perpetually to employ heart stimulants or 
respiratory excitants. 

Although habitually employed by many persons in daily 
doses, the purgative salts, if given in concentrated form, 
are exceedingly harmful in such instances, rapidly losing 
their power and decreasing the patient's strength by the 

i* "Practical Therapeutics," p. 710. 



SELF-MEDICATION 271 

abstraction of liquids and salts from the blood. They often 
produce anemia when constantly used. These salines are 
to be employed simply to unload the bowels when an excess 
of fecal matter has accumulated, or when irritant materials 
are to be swept out of the alimentary canal. 

The average householder usually makes provision 
for treating many of the acute conditions developing 
from a variety of causes, and for handling emergencies 
and accidents that require immediate attention and re- 
lief. Remedies for croup and whooping cough have 
a prominent place in the medicine-chest when there 
are children in the home. Soothing syrups and mix- 
tures for controlling infantile colic, as well as acute 
distress of the adult, are indispensable. Carron oil, 
cooking soda, zinc stearate, and picric-acid dressings 
for burns ; arnica tincture for bruises ; iodin and aris- 
tol, with a good supply of absorbent cotton and as- 
sorted bandages, for cuts and lacerations; antidotes 
for the common poisons and snake-bites ; ammonia and 
soothing lotions for neutralizing the stings of mos- 
quitoes and other poisonous insects; and witch-hazel 
jelly for relieving the discomfort of sunburn — these 
provide the necessities for treating the every-day ac- 
cidents occurring in the usual routine of family life. 
A selected list of reliable drugs and medicines kept in 
readiness in the home is often of great assistance to 
the family physician. Many times they will furnish 
just the aid that the doctor wants at a critical moment. 
This is especially true in rural districts, where the 
nearest drug-store may be miles away. 

Everyone ought to be familiar with the antidotes for 



272 THE STORY OF DRUGS 

common poisons, and know how to administer them. 
In districts where venomous reptiles are common, the 
hypodermic syringe and a bottle of permanganate 
should always be in readiness for an accident, and 
when outfitting for a vacation in such localities it is 
well to take along a supply of antivenom serum in the 
emergency kit. 

The family medicine-chest need not be a miniature 
drug store, but if intelligently planned it will enable 
the householder to pick the essential remedy for the 
numerous emergencies that are continually arising, 
even in the best regulated homes. 

No outfit is complete that does not include a kit of 
surgical supplies. Sets of this character are prepared 
expressly for household use, and contain full comple- 
ments of the ordinary articles, bandages, splints, picric- 
acid dressings, antiseptics, surgeon's plaster, etc., for 
first aid in cases of burns, cuts, sprains, and broken 
bones. 

In the appendix where we present a list of sug- 
gestions for the family medicine-chest, it is recognized 
that many well known remedies have been omitted. 
No apologies are required, however, for it should be 
understood that, where names have been mentioned, 
they stand as types indicated in the particular class of 
ailment that they have been found to relieve. Special 
preparations featuring several drugs in admixtures, 
and sold under trade-names, are usually of higher 
quality and more efficacious than extemporaneous pre- 
scriptions made up from the same formulas. The 
firms making them possess all the facilities for large- 
scale production, and their preparations represent the 



SELF-MEDICATION 273 

results of many years of careful thought and experi- 
mentation. 

It is sometimes said, by way of disparagement, that 
the cost of the ingredients of these remedies represents 
but a small fraction of the price charged for them. 
The cost of the ingredients, however, is but one factor 
in reckoning the expenses of preparing any medicine. 
There are many expensive operations required to 
compound the ingredients and present them in per- 
manent and assimilable form; expensive solvents are 
often required ; and the preparation may require care- 
ful aging and testing by expert chemists before the 
manufacturer is willing to let it go on the market. It 
can be asserted with assurance that the cost of putting 
up a few ounces of a preparation representing the 
same formula, granted that the same care and super- 
vision were exerted, would be far greater than the ex- 
pense entailed by the large-scale production. 

The household armamentarium appended 15 contains 
several items that appear to duplicate the treatment 
for certain conditions. Thus we find two or three 
kinds of saline laxatives and an equal number of 
vegetable remedies for constipation and liver torpidity. 
The reason for this is that individuals respond 
differently to the action of drugs, often times no two 
members of the same household reacting in the same 
way. Furthermore, the family physician may con- 
sider it advisable to call for one type instead of another, 
and if representatives of both are on hand, his needs 
are taken care of. 

In homes where the family is large and on farms 

is See page 345. 



274 THE STORY OF DEUGS 

maintaining a large force of workers, the family 
medicine-chest is drawn upon almost every day for 
some panacea or other. It is an indispensable essen- 
tial in the economy of the modern household. 



CHAPTER XII 



COMPLEXION 



Evolution in the animal world as it has come down 
through the centuries to the present day, has resulted 
in many interesting contrasts in the various orders of 
natural life. Especially is this true in the appearance 
of the sexes. In the insect world we often find little 
evidence of distinction between the genders of a 
particular species, but again the distinguishing char- 
acteristics are extreme, as instanced in the case of the 
glow-worm. The male of this species is a flying beetle 
of no special beauty, while the female, though devoid 
of wings and classed as a crawling worm, develops at 
the mating season a wonderful display of luminosity, 
which, as darkness falls, shines forth with a soft green 
phosphorescent hue, the grayish-looking grub being 
transformed into one of the most beautiful of natural 
creations. 

Among the mammals the tendency is for the male to 
develop characteristics of striking appearance, while 
the female is plainer and often of smaller stature. 
The fully developed lion is a majestic creature with his 
shaggy mane and lordly appearance, while the female 
shows at most but a rudimentary hirsute adornment on 
her neck and shoulders. The bull moose at full prime 

275 



276 THE STORY OF DRUGS 

is one of the most striking creatures of the wild, with 
widespread palmated antlers and pendant bell drooping 
from his neck, while the cow is destitute of horns and 
resembles at best an overgrown jackass with a tendency 
to a prehensile muzzle. 

Among the feathered tribe there is great differentia- 
tion between the sexes. The males of the tropical 
humming-birds show vivid colors and remarkable 
adornments, while the females are usually plainer both 
in hue and raiment. Among the familiar species of our 
northern environment, the scarlet tanager is, in the 
male, a beautiful creature, with his ruddy plumage 
and black wings and tail, while the mother bird is of 
a somber greenish color with no suggestion of red. 
The male indigo-bird is as blue as the name indicates ; 
but his mate is brown, and when seen by herself 
would never be associated with her cerulean mate. 

Coming to the genus Homo, we find that, ever since 
the human form began scampering over the surface 
of the world, 600,000 or more years ago, down through 
the ages of the Heidelburg and Piltdown types, through 
the Cromagnon creatures something like ourselves in 
appearance, to the beginning of the Neolithic age of 
ten or twelve thousand years ago, and through all the 
ebbs and flows of the Neolithic, down to the present 
age of civilization, the differentiation between the sexes 
has gone on, until to-day we have in womankind the 
acme of all natural creations. 

It is not the purpose of this exposition to enter into 
a discussion as to the superiority of sexes. Whether 
or not the male of the species is superior to the female 
is a question for the sociologist and biologist to de- 



PAINT, POWDER, AND ROUGE 277 

bate in their respective fields. But from an orna- 
mental standpoint, considered especially in the aspect 
of external appearance, men will generally agree that 
at the apex of the development of the animal kingdom 
woman reigns supreme. 

The natural beauty of womankind varies among 
different races and peoples. As a general proposition, 
the scope of physical attraction is within a race, and is 
generally confined to those of the same nationality. 
Extraracial appeal is usually momentary, though the 
appeal between alien individuals of the same race may 
be strong and often permanent. 

The enhancement of natural beauty has been 
practiced ever since civilized man left any record of 
his activities. The artificial adornments and gro- 
tesque head-dresses of the ancient Medes and Persians 
have been permanently pictured in the artistic records 
that have come down through the centuries. However, 
the degree of embellishment depends upon the point 
of view from which they are judged. That which may 
be the customary practice of one nationality may seem 
utterly absurd or distasteful to another. For example, 
it is the custom of certain tribes to file and blacken 
their teeth, while among civilized people everything 
possible is done to keep them white. 

Not many years ago heavy earrings and combs of 
marvelous shapes were essential parts of the head- 
dress of American women of refinement. Nearly 
every young girl underwent the ordeal of having the 
lobes of her ears pierced in preparation for the pendent 
drops that would adorn her features by the time she 
had reached maturity. The use of appendages of this 



278 THE STORY OF DRUGS 

character gradually went out of fashion, and though 
to-day there is a sporadic return to them, the girl 
whose ears are pierced is as conspicuous as would have 
been one who assumed an artificial complexion a couple 
of decades ago. 

Most conspicuously has the development of modern 
fashion proceeded in the direction of comfort to the 
individual. No longer do women torture themselves 
with vise-like corsets, or swathe their arms and necks 
in sleeves and collars that grip them like applications 
of surgeon's plaster. The raiment of the present day 
is designed to permit freedom of movement. This is 
the prime requisite of modern dress. The trailing 
skirts that twenty years ago accumulated the burnt 
matches, cigar stumps, and other debris of the pave- 
ment and cross-walk, and lightened the work of the 
street-sweeper, have given way to the shorter garments 
that permit the legs to exercise in a free and untram- 
meled manner. 

The former dependence on pads, bustles, and other 
appliances for rounding out the form has given way 
to normal natural development through physical ex- 
ercise, massage, bathing, and athletics. 

The development of modern fashion has been not 
only in the direction of comfort, but with due regard 
to the activity or occupation in which the wearer is 
engaged, to the end of producing a charming effect as 
well as serving a practical purpose. The early auto- 
mobile costumes were freakish in design, and the var- 
ious accessories with which the person was encum- 
bered produced a result that was ludicrous in the ex- 
treme. 



PAINT, POWDER, AND ROUGE 279 

Common sense, and a realization that the ideas 
formerly in vogue respecting the character of the ex- 
ternal covering were prudish, have been in a large 
measure responsible for the sensible character of the 
dress of the American woman of to-day. Hand in hand 
with the emancipation of the female mentality from its 
adherence to the principles that had narcotized it for 
generations, there has developed an appreciation of the 
importance of an attractive physical presence and an 
acknowledged use of artificial means, if necessary, for 
attaining this end. 

Physical attraction contemplates not only that the 
facial features should be well balanced and unmarred, 
but that the anatomy as a whole should be in keeping 
with the individual type, be she short or tall, rotund or 
spare, blond or brunette. The proper development 
and maintenance of those physical characteristics to 
which the charm of woman's appearance is due de- 
pends in large measure on careful attention to personal 
hygiene and the free and unaided functioning of the 
bodily processes. This has been emphasized in the 
chapter on self-medication. With the advantages of 
present-day education, and the ability to make use of 
the unlimited talent specializing in the care of ex- 
ternals, there is no excuse for unhealthy and dandruff- 
specked hair, oily or pimple-spotted complexions, 
rough hands and fingers with irregular nails, sunken 
chests and attenuated busts, hips and legs out of keep- 
ing with the stature, or shapeless feet with nerve- 
racking calluses. 

Twenty years ago the use of cosmetics that left their 
visible mark on the features, or that were intended to 



280 THE STORY OF DRUGS 

produce a heightened complexion where nature had 
been tardy, or physical neglect was manifesting itself, 
were indulged in only surreptitiously. The en- 
lightened portion of our population at that period con- 
sidered, no doubt with reason, that facial embellish- 
ments and artificial aids for improving the appearance 
of the anatomy in general were employed principally — 
off the stage — among what we are pleased to term the 
demi-monde. 

Happily, however, for the approving vision of man, 
it is no longer shocking for a girl to apply to her fore- 
head, cheeks, and nose an innocent face powder for the 
purpose of absorbing an excess of perspiration that 
would otherwise produce a mirror-like effect to her 
countenance. She may also without criticism blend 
into the natural hue of her complexion shades of color 
that create a blush that is in keeping with her type, 
and the artificiality of which challenges the scrutiny of 
an expert to discern. 

The present-day tolerance concerning the use of 
preparations for maintaining and improving the ap- 
pearance of the features is illustrated in the expression 
of a representative American woman of wealth and 
refinement, who not long ago remarked that, in her be- 
lief, it was the duty of every woman to look as well as 
she possibly could. Her own daily applications, she 
said, included not less than a dozen different formulas. 
Her acknowledgment is typical of the present practice, 
which amounts to an almost universal indulgence in the 
use of cosmetics and toilet articles of varying character 
and purpose. 

It is our purpose to enlighten the curiosity of the 



PAINT, POWDER, AND ROUGE 281 

public concerning the character of these various prepa- 
rations. Their number is legion. They are of all 
sorts and descriptions and they are accessible to the 
poor as well as to the affluent. 

Included in the list of so-called " beauty' ' specialties 
are not only those that are designed for the numerous 
attentions accorded the facial features, but those for 
treating the hair, hands, nails, bust, hips, legs, and feet. 
Products for checking excessive perspiration, allaying 
sunburn, and removing freckles likewise are now 
included in a general list of toilet articles, and the fact 
that bathing has become a daily indulgence instead of a 
weekly observance has brought about a demand for an 
immense variety of powders, salts, soaps, and other 
accessories designed especially for balneal purposes. 
Perfumes and toilet waters fall naturally into the 
classification of boudoir indispensables. 

Taken altogether, in many modern homes the 
boudoir cabinet occupies a place of as much impor- 
tance in its own particular field as does the family 
medicine-chest. 

In the minds of many inquiring people it would ap- 
pear that the belief is prevalent that the various ap- 
plications for the face, lips, hands, and nails contain 
harmful substances, and that their continued use is 
more or less deleterious. As a matter of fact, most 
of the toilet accessories — powders, rouges, creams, etc. 
— are simple in composition and seldom contain any- 
thing harmful to the skin or complexion. There is 
nothing mysterious about any of them, neither is there 
anything complicated about their formulas, except the 
perfumes, which are usually blends of several oils 



282 THE STORY OF DRUGS 

possessing a pleasing fragrance — this being often a 
determining factor in the popularity of a particular 
preparation. If a batch of finely bolted talcum powder 
should be divided into two parts, and one part treated 
with a delicate and refreshing perfume, and both 
packed in tins of equal attractiveness, the portion that 
was not perfumed would languish on the shelves long 
after the other had been sold. Except for the slight 
mental effect, the perfume plays no part in the action 
of the powder; yet, unless there is some other strong 
appeal in the unperfumed article, the popularity rests 
with the one that stimulates the sensibility. 

The harm that may have occurred when facial 
cosmetics first came into general popularity was due, 
no doubt, in large part to the failure of the user to 
remove the application before retiring for the night, or 
before another treatment was given. In those days the 
color effects were obtained more extensively by means 
of pastes and creams — in other words, by paint — than 
they are to-day, when the expert dusting on of a bit of 
dye-impregnated powder develops the bloom of youth 
for the sunlit street, or the rosy hue that heightens 
the complexion at night, neutralizing the ghastly livid- 
ness produced in the natural skin pigment by the glare 
of artificial illumination. 

Not long ago a young society woman, whose comeli- 
ness made her the center of an admiring throng at one 
of our summer watering-places, had the misfortune to 
be caught in the under-tow, got beyond her depth, and 
was well on the way to being drowned before she was 
rescued and stretched on the beach for the administra- 



PAINT, POWDER, AND ROUGE 283 

tion of first-aid assistance. Her body showed the usual 
color of a partially suffocated individual, but not so 
her countenance, which through it all retained its' 
customary blush and bespoke the deftness with which 
her attractiveness had been accomplished. 

In these days, when soap and water function so ex- 
tensively in the daily routine, there is little opportunity 
for the numerous embellishments of the toilet to remain 
permanently in the pores of the skin. It was on ac- 
count of the discomfort and disfigurement incident to 
the clogging of the surface glands through incomplete 
removal of the applications that the former disrepute 
of cosmetics was generally due. 

Ruined complexions have been unjustly attributed to 
the application of cosmetics sometimes when the trou- 
ble has been exterior manifestations of some derange- 
ment of the internal physical functionings. In such 
cases, when the activities are restored to normalcy the 
eruptions on the face disappear. 

Where there is a tendency to irritation, as in hyper- 
sensitive skins, the reaction to cosmetics may be un- 
favorable. Certain depilatories (preparations for re- 
moving hair) contain barium sulphide, a soluble salt of 
the metal barium, and the irritant effect on the tissue 
counter-indicates their use in many cases. Most of 
the perspiration preventives contain aluminum chloride 
or some metallic astringent of similar nature, and 
their application on the flesh of the arm-pits is in- 
advisable where the sensitiveness is extreme. Hair 
washes were at one time heavily charged with salts of 
lead, sugar of lead being the favorite ingredient. 



284 THE STOEY OF DRUGS 

They induced an unhealthy irritation of the scalp, and 
were dangerous because their copious application 
tended to induce lead intoxication or poisoning. 

Many of the hair dyes offered to the public consisted 
of a double treatment, one of the ingredients being an 
organic coal-tar derivative known, as paraphenylene 
diamine. Other substances closely related to this 
were substituted, but all of this type were dangerous, 
because the optic nerve is particularly sensitive to their 
toxicity. The exploiters of these preparations ap- 
parently appreciated their harmful tendencies, for 
their circulars contained skilfully worded paragraphs 
that provided for a refund if unpleasant conditions 
developed. 

Freckle creams usually contain ammoniated mercury 
or white precipitate, a white powder obtained by pre- 
cipitating bichloride with an excess of ammonia. The 
use of preparations containing this substance is con- 
demned in some quarters, owing to the reputed toxicity 
of mercurials in general. Whether or not creams 
designed to remove freckles have much virtue in per- 
manently changing the speckled abnormality of 
pigmentation is open to question; but it is doubtful 
whether much harm would result from their use, since 
the mercury salt above noted is relatively insoluble, 
and, unless it got into the circulation or was ingested 
internally through mistake, it would not be likely to 
produce symptoms of mercurial poisoning. 

The toilet articles and cosmetics on the market vary 
in the refinement of their make-up and the character of 
their ingredients. They are designed for all sorts and 
conditions of patronage. But, as we have already ob- 



PAINT, POWDER, AND EOUGE 285 

served, the formulas usually consist of simple 
ingredients, and, while there may be a thousand brands 
of a particular type of cream or powder or hair tonic, 
the composition shows little dissimilarity. The cost 
rises slightly with the degree of refinement and the 
better quality of the ingredients. The price, however, 
depends more often upon the form of the package and 
the character of the trade affected than upon the cost 
of manufacture. For example, the manufacture of 
toilet soaps is standardized to such a degree that, aside 
from the value of the whiff of perfume, a cake selling 
for a quarter costs no more to make than one that 
retails for a dollar. But the trade that would turn up 
its nose at the less expensive package cheerfully pays 
its dollar for the same article when more elaborately 
caparisoned. 

Among the preparations for the general toilet, bath 
salts first claim our attention. Some of these are put 
out in the form of powders, delicately perfumed and 
occasionally faintly colored to heighten the esthetic 
effect. Again, they may appear as a mass of fine 
crystals. The powders usually consist of sodium 
bicarbonate or ordinary cooking soda, the crystalline 
preparations of the normal carbonate of soda, to which 
may be added a proportion of sodium chloride, which 
is common salt in crystalline form. 

There are bath salts that feature a combination of 
powder and tablet, the former consisting of the 
customary bicarbonate, and the latter of fused sodium 
bisulphate, an acid-reacting substance. The applica- 
tion consists in dissolving the powder in the bath and 
then placing the tablets at intervals on the bottom of 



286 THE STORY OF DRUGS 

the tub. The bather is supposed to recline immersed 
in the saline liquid to get the ' ' effect, ' ' which consists 
in the gradual evolution of carbonic-acid gas, through 
the reaction of the acid sulphate of sodium on the 
alkaline bicarbonate. 

All toilet soaps are made in about the same manner. 
A mixture of fatty acids is neutralized with a solution 
of caustic soda in water, and the crude soap resulting 
from the reaction is separated from the liquid. The 
fatty acids belong to the great family of organic com- 
pounds. They are usually obtained from cocoanut oil, 
a semi-solid fat, or from hardened cotton-seed, olive, 
or some other bland oil. The process of hardening is an 
invention of comparatively recent date, and consists 
in setting free the element of hydrogen in contact with 
the oil, with the result that the hydrogen enters the oil 
molecule, saturates it, as we say in chemical lore, and 
changes it from a flowing liquid to an immobile grease. 
It is on this same principle that Criseo is made. 

Fats are chemical compounds of fatty acids with 
glycerin. When subjected to the action of hot caustic 
alkalis, they are broken up, the glycerin being set free 
and the alkali metal uniting with the fatty acids to 
form soap. Soaps are, therefore, really salts of fatty 
acids. Those made with caustic soda are solid and 
are known as hard soaps; those with caustic potash 
are liquid and are called soft soaps. 

In some plants the fatty acids are separated from 
the fats before being combined with the alkali. In 
others the fats themselves are treated directly. Glyc- 
erin is a by-product of the soap industry, enormous 
quantities being recovered annually. 



PAINT, POWDER, AND ROUGE 287 

For making the high-grade toilet soaps, the crude 
product from the reaction is removed to a dryer, where 
most of the water is evaporated. The product can 
then be ground up or powdered if desired. It is us- 
ually run through an apparatus to render it uniform in 
character, after which it is mixed with the proper 
quantity of perfume and then stamped into cakes- of 
various forms. During the milling process there may 
be added zinc oxide, borax, carbolic acid, creosote, tar, 
Prussian blue, and various other antiseptic agents that 
feature the numerous facial and medicated soaps on the 
market. Hand sapolibs contain a high percentage of 
fine sand. 

Most of the peroxide soaps are " peroxide' ' only in 
name. The peroxides are very unstable substances. 
If they are added at all, they usually undergo a change 
to a more stable compound during the process of manu- 
facture or while the soap is aging. Some soaps to 
which peroxide of zinc has been added have been found 
to yield a peroxide reaction ; but as* a rule the peroxide 
feature is lacking. 

Our" inquiry will now proceed to an examination of 
the various special preparations used on the different 
parts of the body, and we shall begin with those con- 
cerned with the health and beauty of the scalp and hair. 

No argument is necessary for the general acceptance 
of the observation that woman's crowning adornment is 
her hair. When in perfect health, with its luxurious 
growth and accompanying sheen and flexibility, it 
plays a large part in setting off the comeliness of the 
facial features to produce the general attractiveness of 
the individual. The emphasis of this remark is appar- 



288 THE STORY OF DRUGS 

ent to anyone who has observed the ridiculous fad of 
recent date, wherein the sacrifice of the hair below the 
ears has transformed girls of peculiar grace and gentil- 
ity into grotesque caricatures. 

Profusion of flexible and lustrous hair is a natural 
accompaniment of general good health, but the ac- 
cumulation of fatty material naturally secreted by the 
fibers, and the dust and dirt from outside sources which 
gradually collect, have to be removed at periodical in- 
tervals; and dandruff flourishes on the scalps of the 
healthiest. Palling hair is a condition causing great 
concern with many people, often with reason ; but the 
gradual coming out of the fibers is continual, and at 
some seasons of the year the loss assumes the appear- 
ance of a moult. It is usually on these occasions that 
the perennial apprehension takes place. 

The shampoo soaps and the special medicated soaps 
for removing the dirt and accumulations from the 
hair and scalp differ in no respect from soaps in 
general. They may contain, in some instances, a little 
soap-bark for the purpose of developing a profuse 
lather, but otherwise they consist of the same ingredi- 
ents and are prepared in the same way as the soaps 
we have already described. Soap-bark comes from the 
quillaia tree, indigenous to Chile and Peru. It con- 
tains a substance known as saponin, which is of complex 
character. Saponin, when mixed with water, has the 
property of producing, on agitation, a wonderful foam. 
It is to this effect that its name is due, and the fact 
that the crude material that yields it is called soap- 
bark. 

Most of the shampoo liquids and powders are mix- 



PAINT, POWDER, AND ROUGE 289 

tures of soap and carbonate of either sodium or potas- 
sium. Sometimes borax will be found, and occasionally 
tar or some antiseptic; but as a rule they are of very 
simple composition. The literature accompanying 
these made-up shampoos is often objectionable in that 
the statements warn one against the use of soap, 
borax, or the mild alkalis, when the products themselves 
consist largely of these identical articles. 

Hair tonics and dandruff-removers are more varied 
in their composition than are the other classes of hair 
preparations. They usually consist of a combination 
in dilute alcoholic solution of some of the following 
ingredients : quinin salts or extract of cinchona, which 
contains quinin, pilocarpin salts or extract of the drug 
pilocarpus (jaborandi), extract of sage, salicylic acid, 
resorcin, carbolic acid, chloral hydrate, capsicum, can- 
tharides, glycerin, arsenic, lead, and sulphur. Mas- 
sage of the scalp is an essential adjunct to the use of 
all these tonics and removers, but the ingredients them- 
selves undoubtedly play their part in the effects pro- 
duced. Where lead occurs, the only value of this ele- 
ment is to cause a darkening of the hair, through the 
formation in the fibers of the black sulphide of lead. 
It is not a tonic to either the hair or the scalp, but 
actually a form of dye. 

Dyes for the hair are of several types. There are 
the henna dyes for producing various shades from a 
rich coppery luster to a brilliant sable. There are the 
metal dyes, of which the lead mixture with sulphur is 
an example. And there are the combination treatments 
featuring the coal-tar derivatives and some other in- 
gredient for fixing the color. The use of hennas is 



290 THE STORY OF DRUGS 

attended with the least danger to those of singular 
temperament, who may be sensitive to lead or the 
phenylene derivatives. History accords to Cleopatra 
the original popularity of the use of henna, and it is 
in Egypt that the supplies of this article still origi- 
nate. It is the leaf of a species of lawsonia, and con- 
tains a yellow substance having powerful dying prop- 
erties. Hennas for producing light effects depend 
upon nothing more than the natural dye occurring in 
the leaf. Those for developing the darker shades 
contain salts of copper. 

The numerous powders for developing a fluffy ap- 
pearance of the hair are composed, for the most part, 
of powdered orris root, starch, and talc. Their action 
is in the direction of absorbing the fat and moisture 
of the hair, the talc taking the place of the natural 
lubricant, without its adherent property. The hair, 
relieved of the influences that kept it matted and 
smooth, exhibits its elasticity by fluffing up and assum- 
ing an appearance of bulk. 

Having disposed of the principle accouterments for 
preserving and beautifying the hair, we will next take 
up the preparations for the face and other anatomical 
features. 

Powders first claim our attention ; and in connection 
with those especially designed for the face reference 
will be made also to those for the body as a whole. 
The base of nearly all powders is talc, a mineral that 
occurs in large deposits in various parts of the world. 
Great care is taken in the preparation of powdered 
talc. The best grades are pure white in color, free 
from particles of grit, and reduced to an impalpable 



PAINT, POWDER, AND ROUGE 291 

form by milling and bolting. Separation of the finer 
particles is also effected by floating both in water and 
air, the larger grains quickly falling away from the 
finer, imponderable particles. 

Body powders may consist of talc alone, or in a com- 
bination with boric acid, zinc oxide, starch, calcium 
carbonate (powdered chalk), and powdered orris root. 
As a rule the zinc oxide and chalk are lacking in the 
body powders; but one or the other, and often both, 
occur in the face powders. Complexion and face pow- 
ders are of the same general character. They all con- 
tain talc, but the combinations run more to zinc oxide 
and chalk than to starch and boric acid. 

The facial powders may contain the dyes that de- 
velop the delicate artificial hues now so universally 
used. These dyes are usually of coal-tar derivation, 
and it requires such a minute quantity to produce the 
desired effect that they cannot be considered deleteri- 
ous to the user. They are quickly removed by the 
ordinary operation of the bath, and, unlike the old 
forms of paste paints, have little tendency to clog the 
pores and prevent the natural functioning of the sur- 
face glands. 

Zinc stearate has come into use within the past dec- 
ade, and provides a very satisfactory lubricant and 
soothing powder. It is more adherent than talc or zinc 
oxide, and, when employed for lightening the com- 
plexion, can be depended upon for a longer period. 
These powders are of great benefit in relieving the 
discomfort of sunburn, though in the early stages of 
the exposure a copious application of dry sodium bi- 
carbonate will be quite as effectual in reducing the 



292 THE STOEY OF DRUGS 

irritation and will lessen the tendency to blister forma- 
tion. The subsequent employment of an emollient lo- 
tion or jelly compound of glycerin, Irish moss muci- 
lage, and boric acid, rubbed well into the affected areas, 
later to be followed by a dusting of zinc stearate and 
talc, will bring about a rapid restoration to normal 
conditions. 

Facial and body creams are of four general types. 
The true cold creams are made on a base of some 
greasy material such as vaseline or petrolatum, lanolin, 
or lard. The greaseless or disappearing creams are 
combinations featuring soap and glycerin as the basic 
constituents. Then, there are moist casein creams and 
liquid creams. Some of the liquid creams belong to 
the second class above mentioned, but there is a type 
of fluid cream made up on a mucilage foundation, the 
emollient character being produced by decoction of 
quince-seed or Irish moss. 

The basic constituents of the grease creams are, 
as we noted above, vaseline, lanolin, or lard. In the 
better brands none but the purest greases are used; 
otherwise the products develop a rancid odor, and when 
the perfume has evaporated they are not pleasant to 
use. In some creams both vaseline and lanolin are 
used, this type often being designated as a skin food, 
and recommended for nourishing the tissues of under- 
sized busts, hips and legs. In so far as these so-called 
"skin foods" soften the tissues and on account of the 
accompanying massage, stimulate the circulation and 
natural secretions of the glands in the neighborhood of 
the operation, they may indirectly aid in bringing 
about an increase of cellular activity and a tendency 



PAINT, POWDER, AND ROUGE 293 

to increased development. But as direct foods for the 
skin and flesh they are ineffectual. There are no foods 
specifically assimilable for any special part of the body. 
The tissues are built up through the digestion of foods 
in the stomach and intestines and the transportation 
of the metabolized nourishment through the blood- 
stream to the body cells. 

Combined with the basic greases are usually vary- 
ing percentages of water, gums such as tragacanth and 
acacia, spermaceti, beeswax, and paraffin. The per- 
fumes often characterize the product. Uniformity is 
obtained by thorough mixing in a machine with revolv- 
ing knives, and smoothness is brought about by run- 
ning the mass through a form of paint-mill. 

In the greaseless creams the soap and glycerin are 
beaten up with water until the proper consistency is 
obtained, and then the perfume and any special in- 
gredient, such as boric acid, is added. Zinc oxide 
often functions in the greaseless creams, and will be 
found occasionally in the true cold creams. 

Peroxide creams were popular at one time, but they 
soon passed out. The unstable peroxides quickly be- 
came altered to more stable substances, and any virtue 
that might have been anticipated from the peroxide 
was lost. 

A great deal of agitation has been aroused on ac- 
count of the sensational claims that certain types of 
cream tend to stimulate the growth of hair on the face. 
The prevailing custom is to claim, in the literature 
accompanying a cream, that it will not grow hair on 
the face, and to warn against the use of other prep- 
arations. But no one kind of cream or other product is 



294 THE STORY OF DRUGS 

more predisposed to stimulate the growth of hair than 
another, and, while the massaging of the flesh may 
produce a growth of down on the face, it is due to 
stimulation of the circulation rather than to the effect 
of the cream. 

Preparations for bleaching the complexion depend 
either on the temporary deposition of some white 
powder in the pores, or the supposed action of borax, 
a sulphite or hyposulphite on the pigment. These pro- 
ducts are usually offered in the form of liquids. Their 
effect is not that of a true bleach, and they do not alter 
the pigmentation. Sallowness or the pale, sickly-yel- 
low color incident to a sedentary life undiverted by 
exercise or proper recreation, and which also comes 
from an improper diet and deranged conditions in the 
stomach and bowels, may be remedied first and only 
by taking proper steps to correct the contributing 
causes. Attempts to bleach the complexion amount to 
nothing, or at best produce a sickly pallidity. Nei- 
ther will these agents remove a healthy tan, which 
should be admired both by the possessor and the ob- 
server. 

In connection with the use of complexion bleaches, 
it is in order to relate an incident that occurred in 
Washington at a time when the Bureau of Chemistry 
was preparing to destroy an accumulation of obsolete 
samples that had figured in some of the early cases 
under the Pure Food Law. In the collection was a 
bottle of a widely advertized Complexion Bleach, a 
solution of borax in orange-flower water, which had 
been included in the seizure of several other mis- 
branded preparations. One of the colored messen- 



PAINT, POWDER, AND ROUGE 2% 

gers appropriated the package, and when discovered 
and accosted as to his motive, he replied that he 
thought it might make him white ! 

Among the preparations designed for special pur- 
poses, mention should be made of the depilatories. 
Some of these occur in the form of powders consist- 
ing of barium sulphide and starch, often with the ad- 
dition of zinc oxide. Liquid hair-removers may con- 
tain sodium sulphide, the solutions being highly per- 
fumed to disguise the odor of decayed eggs that char- 
acterizes soluble sulphides. These preparations will 
remove the hair superficially, but it will grow again un- 
less the roots are destroyed, and the depilatories do not 
function beneath the surface. The complete removal of 
individual hairs or tufts of hirsute growth is affected 
by a very drastic method, whereby a waxy plaster con- 
sisting of resin and some bland oil, such as castor 
oil, highly perfumed, is softened and spread over the 
surface of the skin covered with hair. When the mix- 
ture has solidified, a deft pull tears it from the face, 
bringing with it the hair, roots and all. 

Lip-sticks and eyebrow pencils are mixtures of fat 
and waxes stiff enough to be molded and retain their 
shape. The coloring agent is usually a coal-tar dye, 
soluble in the oily medium. The consistency of the 
preparation is such that, on being drawn over the sur- 
face to be colored, a thin film of grease is left, so that 
by subsequent adjustment and blending the desired 
effect is produced. 

Though not strictly external, the teeth have a vital 
significance in the harmony of the facial exhibition. 
The multitude of brands of pastes and powders is be- 



296 THE STORY OF DRUGS 

wildering, but they are more or less similar in their 
make-up. The semi-fluid nature of the pastes is due 
to glycerin, and the body is built up with calcium car- 
bonate (chalk), soap, sometimes calcium phosphate, 
and occasionally pumice. Cane-sugar, and sometimes 
milk-sugar, with now and then a trace of saccharin, 
often occur, and they are all highly flavored. Some 
of them are colored with harmless dyes. Most of the 
pastes feature the mild aromatic antiseptics — menthol, 
thymol, methyl salicylate (oil of wintergreen), oil of 
cinnamon, and sassafras. One of the widely adver- 
tized pastes contains potassium chlorate. Pepsin and 
preparations of ipecac also function in certain special 
formulas. 

The general run of tooth powders depend upon chalk 
and powdered soap for their cleansing properties. 
Combined with the bulk ingredients are mild and agree- 
able antiseptic agents of the same nature that occur 
in the pastes. Special brands may feature powdered 
myrrh, small amounts- of cresol, and boric acid. 

It is in the powders that one may find unaltered 
peroxides, and these are the only cosmetics of per- 
oxide nature that are true to name. Perborates have 
been found as substitutes for peroxides, but they have 
the property of liberating active oxygen in contact 
with moisture, and hence their significance, in so far 
as this property is concerned, would be the same as the 
peroxides. In addition, the perborates exhibit the anti- 
septic value of the boric acid and borax. 

The liquid dentifrices, of which there are a few in 
popular use, consist of soap and glycerin dissolved in 
diluted alcohol, with varying proportions of the same 



PAINT, POWDER, AND ROUGE 297 

antiseptic agents found in the pastes and powders. 
Tincture of myrrh is often included, and the color may- 
be due to cudbear, cochineal, rosolic acid, methyl 
orange, or salts of berberin. 

In the course of an extensive investigation of a 
series of preparations for preserving and beautifying 
the external features, there was encountered a mix- 
ture recommended for increasing the brightness and 
sparkle of the eyes and intensifying their natural color. 
It was to be taken internally. On investigation, it was 
found to consist of pepsin dissolved in glycerin, col- 
ored with cochineal and flavored with oil of rose. If 
the user happened to be a confirmed dyspeptic, with 
dull eyes due to indigestion, the efficacy of such a 
mixture might be apparent, but otherwise its use would 
be futile. 

Among the preparations having special application 
to the upper extremities, those for the arm-pits and 
finger-nails are perhaps the most interesting. The 
various creams and lotions for the hands and arms 
differ in no essential from those designed for the face, 
and the depilatories we have already discussed. 

The liquids that are applied to the arm-pits to pre- 
vent excessive perspiration are solutions of aluminum 
chloride or zinc chloride in water or diluted alcohol. 
Perfumes and colors of various sorts are included for 
the esthetic effect, and in one case a small quantity of 
bromide was discovered, possibly added with the idea of 
soothing any irritation that might have been induced by 
the astringent. The essential ingredients of these lo- 
tions possess the property of contracting the pores of 
the skin whereon they are applied. The astringency 



298 THE STORY OF DRUGS 

may act beneath the surface as well, because the salts 
are soluble. Thus, by closing temporarily the natural 
openings, the secretions of the body are retained 
within. When the effect wears off, as it will in time 
through the gradual absorption of the chemicals, or 
if the surface deposit is removed in the bath, the 
normal functions are restored. 

The specialties of the manicurist include enamels 
and polishes for burnishing the surface of the nails, 
whitening compounds for the under portions of the 
tips, and cuticle compounds. The enamels are noth- 
ing more than varnishes, that leave a transparent 
waterproof film on the surface of the nail. The res- 
inous gums used are dissolved in alcohol or some 
other volatile liquid, and a small amount of pink dye 
is included to enhance the natural color of the finger- 
tip. 

There are several types of polishes. Those in 
paste form consist of tin oxide or a siliceous earth, 
finely bolted pumice or clay, suspended in a stiff oint- 
ment of petrolatum and wax, usually colored with a 
dye soluble in the grease. The powder polishes are 
made with tin oxide or siliceous earth, with a small 
percentage of grease. Nail-stones are solid cakes of 
the same kind of polishing material held in form by 
means of plaster-of-paris. They are molded and 
baked like bricks. 

The cuticle-softeners show marked contrast in their 
make-up. Most of them contain some organic acid, 
such as oxalic or citric in aqueous solution. The bet- 
ter class, however, are of mildly alkaline character and 



PAINT, POWDER, AND ROUGE 299 

contain glycerin. In connection with the use of these 
preparations it is of interest to relate an experience 
that illustrates the danger of jumping at conclu- 
sions regarding the cause of untoward physical 
manifestations which sometimes occur simultaneously 
with the application of cosmetics and remedies 
in general. 

Complaints had been registered against a well known 
brand of cuticle-softener, on the ground that it was 
causing serious inconvenience to persons who were 
using it in the customary performance of their daily 
ablutions. Reports of infection, with accompanying 
irritation and other disagreeable symptoms, featured 
the complaints. The proprietor was a humanitarian 
as well as a shrewd business man, and decided that if 
his product was harmful he would take it off the mar- 
ket. The only way to determine whether the claims 
were warranted or not was to institute a series of 
investigations under scientific control, which he ac- 
cordingly authorized. Physiological tests, made first 
on animals and later on human, subjects, resulted in 
the discovery that, instead of causing the conditions 
that were the subject of the complaint, the product 
was actually a remedy for them. As a result of the 
researches the proprietor found not only that his prod- 
uct did not and could not cause the infection and other 
untoward symptoms, but that there was a place for 
it in a field where heretofore he had no idea that it 
would be useful. 

Pastes for whitening the under side of the nail- 
tips usually consist of a very pure form of zinc oxide 



300 THE STORY OF DRUGS 

compounded with glycerin, white vaseline, or lanolin. 
They usually amount to a peculiar type of paint 
resembling in some respects the pastes used by the 
portrait-painter. 

In discussing the character of the numerous face and 
body creams, reference was made to the so-called 
bust-developers and skin foods. Some of these prepa- 
rations, when designed for increasing the rotundity of 
those parts of woman's anatomy which determine her 
attractiveness from the point of view of perfect form 
and development, contain a considerable proportion of 
cacao butter, in addition to the usual greases and gums 
characterizing creams of this type. Cacao butter is 
obtained f om the chocolate-bean, not from the coconut. 
It is also called oil of theobroma, and when pure is a 
pale yellowish-brown opaque substance with a mild 
odor suggestive of chocolate. It melts at the tempera- 
ture of the human body, and hence its presence in 
creams and skin foods tends to increase their softness 
when applied, and possibly the rapidity with which 
they are absorbed into the tissues. 

Next to a comely face set off with a natural pro- 
fusion of healthy hair, the indispensable adjuncts' to 
complete attractiveness in woman are shapely legs and 
feet, duly proportioned to the individual stature. 
Extraordinary development in the shape of the ex- 
tremities or the form of the body, whether it be sub- 
normal or prodigious, is in large measure due to the 
habits of the individual and the general state of health. 
Women of sedentary ways and nervous temperament, 
with the customary accompanying ailments, or the 
lethargic type with a proneness for over-indulgence in 
food and motor-cars, cannot expect to compete in 



PAINT, POWDER, AND ROUGE 301 

physical attractiveness* with those who respect the 
mandates of nature as to diet, dress, and exercise. 

Feet and ankles conforming to the physical symme- 
try are naturally a desideratum. The consummation 
of this desire depends considerably upon the care that 
is taken to fit the shoes to the shape of the pedal ex- 
tremities. Low pumps and high heels are out of place 
on a tramping expedition, just as hob-nailed boots 
would be in a ball-room. But fashion can be adapted 
to* form without sacrifice of style, and if such an 
attitude is observed with intelligence, it will mean 
freedom from weak joints, fallen arches, calluses, and 
ingrowing nails, with all their attendant discomforts. 

Most of the foot* powders are simple combinations of 
talc or boric acid alone, with mild antiseptics such as 
thymol and camphor ; or they may be of more complex 
nature, and include zinc stearate or zinc oxide., salicylic 
acid, alum, and tannic acid. 

Corn-removers are of various forms, but they usually 
depend on the same ingredients for their efficacy. 
Salicylic acid is an invariable component of all these 
preparations, and extract of cannabis sativa is often 
present. The salves are built up on a base of vaseline 
and lard stiffened with wax; the liquid removers con- 
tain the ingredients dissolved in collodion; and the 
plasters depend for adhesiveness on lead oleate, resin, 
or burgundy pitch. The medication of corn plasters 
is usually in little doughnut-shaped receptacles of felt, 
which are held in place by adhesive tape. A well 
known brand of corn plaster was at one time under 
review in Dr. Wiley's laboratory, when the doctor 
happened along and requested a specimen for his 



302 THE STORY OF DEUGS 

personal use. A few weeks later, when asked as to the 
results, he reached into his vest pocket and withdrew 
the package intact, remarking, with a smile, that it 
made no difference where you wore them — his corn 
had disappeared! 

Seriously speaking, however, these aids to the com- 
fort of the feet will, when properly and consistently ap- 
plied, go a long way toward removing ordinary cal- 
luses, and sometimes the extremely disagreeable and 
painful nodosities, "charley-horse" and the like. 

To the numerous toilet waters and colognes that pro- 
vide the finishing touches to the toilet we shall devote 
but a few paragraphs. The perfumer's art is a gift, 
and to become proficient in its execution years and 
years of practice and experience are required. Del- 
icate and subtle perfumes result from the careful 
blending of the fragrant volatile oils obtained from 
fresh blossoms and leaves. Some of these oils or es- 
sences are separated from the flowers by a process of 
distillation, whereby live steam is forced through 
masses of moistened petals. The vapors are con- 
densed, and, since the fragrant oils are not soluble in 
the water, they form a layer on the surface. When a 
sufficient volume has collected, it is drawn off and sub- 
jected to further refinement if necessary. 

Some oils are bottled for direct use in concentrated 
form. The oils of violet and rose are examples, the 
latter having been for centuries an article of commerce 
under the name of attar or "otto" of roses. 

Some of the more delicate perfume oils cannot be 
separated by distillation from the flowers without dam- 
aging their character, and they are therefore obtained 



PAINT, POWDER, AND ROUGE 303 

by a process known as enfleurage. Layers of fresh 
blossoms alternate with layers of grease of high purity 
in a carefully constructed pile, the aroma of the flowers 
being gradually absorbed by the grease. When there 
is no more perfume left in the blossoms, the grease is 
removed, and either used with a fresh batch of flowers, 
or, if saturated, is packed away for the subsequent use 
of the perfume-maker. 

The great bulk of the concentrated oils and essences 
that go to make up the multitude of perfumes, colognes, 
and toilet waters on the market are, however, of 
synthetic origin. They consist of substances belonging 
to the great organic family of chemicals. Some belong 
to the order of alcohols, others to the order of alde- 
hydes and ketones, and still others to the esters, phe- 
nols, and phenol ethers. Coal-tar and fusel oil supply 
the basic constituents for a large number of these syn- 
thetic perfume concentrates. An artificial oil called 
ionone, simulating to a high degree the odor of violets, 
is made in large quantities, and most of the cheaper 
violet perfumes depend upon it for their character- 
istic aroma. 

In compounding the actual perfumes, the artisan 
takes the natural or artificial oils and the enfleurages, 
combines them in proper proportions, and dissolves 
the formula in alcohol. The mixture is colored if the 
specifications of the preparation call for it, and then 
set aside until it has aged sufficiently. The clear liquid 
is finally filtered off from the settlings, and is then 
ready to be bottled for the trade. 

In some colognes the aromatic balsams of Peru and 
tolu, gum benzoin, storax, opopanax and the animal 



304 THE STORY OF DRUGS 

secretions, civet, ambergris, and musk, feature as 
component parts of the blends. Musk is a powerful 
perfuming agent, and such an infinitesimal quantity is 
required to manifest its presence that a particle will 
permeate the air of a room with its aroma for a year 
without any demonstrable loss in weight. 

The increase in the consumption of cosmetics and 
toilet articles in the last quarter century is attested in 
the decennial census reports and the statistics con- 
cerning the annual consumption of alcohol in specific 
industries. 

Beauty parlors and hair-dressing establishments 
occupy the most favorable locations on the fashionable 
avenues of our large cities. Their equipment is often 
lavish, and they are thronged with patrons from 
morning until night. Most shops use their own prepa- 
rations, though but a small number actually engage 
in manufacturing them. In fact, the manicurists, 
masseuses, and hair-dressers seldom know the com- 
position of their own preparations. But, whether they 
feature among the applications of the beauty parlor or 
the ablutions of the boudoir, these perquisities of the 
bath-room and kimono stage of the daily routine are, in 
the main, simple preparations, harmless in character, 
and capable in many cases of supplying the essential 
reinforcements to those features of womankind on 
which her physical attractiveness depends. 



CHAPTER XIII 

HAY FEVER: THE MALADY OF STRENUOUS AMERICA 

Of all the maladies to which the human race is 
addicted, none bespeaks the temperamental character 
of the North American Caucasian more thoroughly 
than does that periodical affliction, hay fever. Its 
peculiarity rests not alone in its annual visitation, but 
in the fact that it is endured by the great mass of the 
afflicted without any consistent recourse to curative 
treatment, and, though it racks and tears the sufferer 
with its pestilence, he seems to be perfectly sound 
when it is gone, and goes through the same experience 
year after year without any apparent undermining of 
his constitution. 

Ever since its existence became recognized, it has 
possessed a sort of community interest, and its sub- 
jects have delighted to assemble in conclave to condole 
with one another over its manifestations. Unless 
complicated by obscure conditions or chronic afflic- 
tions, it seldom places one in confinement, though it 
may seriously handicap the performance of one 's daily 
occupation and interfere with and often prevent the 
indulgence in customary sports and recreations. 

Hay fever is in a class by itself as a malady, and be- 
cause of the popular interest in its life history we shall 
devote a few paragraphs to detailing what it is and 
what has been done to control it. 

305 



306 THE STORY OF DRUGS 

Many persons labor under the assumption that hay 
fever is nothing more than a magnified cold in the head. 
It is nothing of the sort. It is as different from a cold 
in the head as is measles from prickly-heat. 

Some people, during the season when it is fashion- 
able to have hay fever, experience the discomforts of 
an overflowing ocular liquid and an irritation of the 
nasal passages, with the usual excess of mucoid secre- 
tion, due to the microbe-infested dust prevalent at 
that period, and proudly announce that they are smit- 
ten. But this is not hay fever. 

With others a streptococcus infection, due to an un- 
conscious lowering of the constitution, may develop in 
a membrane and manifest an acute recurring coryza or 
a hard cold during the late summer months. They 
announce with assurance that they have " caught' ' hay 
fever. But this is not hay fever. 

The genuine hay-feverite views with scorn the 
assumption of these interlopers. He knows when he 
has a cold in the head or an infection of the tonsils, 
with the accompanying nasal symptoms, and that hay 
fever is not akin to them at all. He knows that 
punctually with each recurring season, between certain 
prescribed dates, the visitation will descend upon him 
with the regularity of a tax-collector; that, unless he 
is fortunate enough to be able to afford the luxury of 
a migration to a region where the anaphylactic agent 
to which he is susceptible is non-existent, he will resign 
himself to its discomforts for the period of a month or 
two ; that his nights will be filled with anguish and for 
the duration of the attack he will intermittently join 
the nocturnal watch and resume his annual communion 



HAY FEVER 307 

with the owls and whip-poor-wills. He knows, too, 
that he will resort to any new remedy that is sug- 
gested for his relief ; for the hay-fever victim is a good 
sport and will try anything once. The variety of 
things that have cured the fake hay-fever patients is 
legion, and these pests, with fiendish persistence, de- 
light in detailing the symptoms of their false diagnosis 
and in extolling the virtues of their sovereign remedies. 

Hay fever is due to an anaphylaxis of the mucous 
membrane of the nasal passages and, to a certain ex- 
tent, of the bronchial tract. In plain language, 
anaphylaxic means hyper sensitiveness of the skin 
tissues to some cause that would be inactive in the case 
of a person not possessing the idiosyncrasy. In hay 
fever the excitation is brought about by the toxal- 
bumins occurring naturally in the pollen of certain 
plants. 

These toxalbumins are nitrogenous organic bodies 
of undetermined composition, but presumably complex 
in their structure. Their action on the human tissues 
and membranes is irritant. Some persons are more 
susceptible to their influence than are others, and some 
react to them so violently that the manifestations take 
the form of a malady lasting as long as the pollenating 
season. It is to the symptoms exhibited by the latter 
that the designation hay fever is given. 

Flowering plants begin to distribute their pollen 
early in the spring. By midsummer the atmosphere is 
permeated with the minute particles, and at this 
season anaphylactic symptoms are known as "rose 
cold," though it is doubtful whether rose pollen is a 
factor of any great moment in the cause of the 



308 THE STORY OF DRUGS 

annoyance. The pollens of the coniferous trees and 
the grasses, especially timothy-hay, are believed to be 
contributing agents to the manifestations of hay fever 
appearing in the early summer. Later on the golden- 
rods contribute their influence, though, like the roses, 
it is probable that their maliciousness has been over- 
estimated. The late blooming wild sunflowers are also 
credited with yielding an irritant pollen. Rut the 
worst offenders of all are the two ragweeds. These 
pariahs in the scheme of nature flourish everywhere, 
crowding out the other growth along the roadsides and 
springing up in unused fields, which they quickly con- 
vert into a rank and sneeze^provoking jungle. The 
common ragweed (Ambrosia art emisia folia) has a 
bushy growth, and seldom surpasses the height of four 
or five feet; but the giant form (Ambrosia trifida) 
pushes up to an altitude of ten feet or more, waving 
its candelabra arrangement of bloom mockingly at the 
observer, as if it thoroughly enjoyed the widespread 
discomfort caused by itself and its more stunted 
cousin. 

The mental processes of the hay-fever addict vary 
from resignation to supine hope as the period for the 
onset of the malady approaches — resignation in the 
case of the long-term sufferer, and hope in the recently 
initiated that he may escape this time. Even the 
"lifer" wonders if he may run a few days past the 
customary date, and if he is of a methodical turn he 
refers to his diary to see when the affliction struck him 
the year before. Even he, though resigned to his fate, 
may contemplate the possibility of a lighter attack 
than usual. Then one and all consult the almanac to 



HAY FEVER 309 

determine the probable date of the first sharp frost, 
in the belief that they may figure the duration of their 
tribulations on the basis of its appearance. 

But here is where they make their big mistake, be- 
cause frost has nothing to do with the ending of the 
hay-fever season. The hay fever of autumn depends 
entirely on the duration and profuseness of the pollen- 
ating period of the ragweed, and until the pollen grains 
cqas'e to exude into the air the acute symptoms will 
not subside. In some localities the ragweed gets 
through with its generative processes in a shorter time 
than it does in others, and sometimes a black frost will 
put the quietus on all growing vegetation at an 
abnormally early date. But the usual white frosts 
that come with September do no more than retard the 
nocturnal activities, and under the influence of the 
daylight rays the blossoms again pour forth their 
emanations. 

As the expiration of the final days of grace ap- 
proaches, the thirty-third-degree hay-feverite watches 
the swelling buds of the ragweed with a fascination 
surpassed only by that of the little child awaiting the 
appearance of the sprouts in his first bed of crocuses 
that were put into the ground the preceding autumn. 
Then, from a man possessed with a free and un- 
hampered breathing capacity, he awakes one morning 
to find himself a sneezing and membrane-congested 
individual in the throes of the first acute stages of the 
malady. 

In its inception the irritation involves the mucous 
membrane of the nasal passages. The inflammation of 
the erectile tissue quickly develops a permanent 



310 THE STORY OF DRUGS 

tendency to congestion, which alternately closes one 
nostril and then the other. This peculiarity is char- 
acteristic of hay fever. For hours at a time one side 
of the nose will be closed as tightly as if the flesh had 
grown across -the orifice, the opposite passage mean- 
while being free. Then the pressure will be relieved, 
and the affection will shift to the other nostril. The 
sensation of an accumulation of mucous, recalling the 
features of a hard head cold, is ever present ; but the 
relief that follows the clearing of the head does not 
occur in the case of hay fever. The discharge is 
continuous, but its removal does not affect the con- 
gestion. 

For the first few days the attack is confined to the 
head, the anaphylaxis involving the eyes, which, 
especially in the morning, overflow with copious 
streams of tears. Then it extends to the bronchial 
and laryngeal tracts, the voice becomes thick, and a 
nocturnal cough appears. The case is now at its 
height. From this stage until its subsidence, the per- 
manent symptoms are interspersed from time to time 
with an uncontrollable itching in the ears and inter- 
mittent spasms of like nature in the back of the palate. 
The whole bodily frame is shaken with paroxysms of 
sneezing, especially in the early morning on rising, or 
when in close contact with the source of the contri- 
buting causes. 

When the malady has the sufferer firmly in its grasp 
the asthmatic spasms make their appearances. This is 
the disagreeable feature that makes night hideous. 
It becomes impossible to recline at full length, and 
often sleep is impossible. The breathing is labored 



HAY FEVER 311 

and difficult. The unconscious satisfaction imparted 
by the usual deep inhalations of perfect health is sub- 
stituted by an unrequited desire to expand the dia- 
phragm. One may struggle for breath for hours ; then 
the paroxysm subsides, and with the coming of day- 
light the world takes on a different aspect. When an 
individual becomes a perennial sufferer in the above 
program, he has the right to consider himself enrolled 
in the hay-fever fraternity. 

Asthma is an affliction that affects a great many 
people who do not show seasonal symptoms of hay 
fever. Confirmed asthmatics will experience the man- 
ifestations of their affliction at recurring intervals 
throughout the year, and often the true hay-feverite 
will, out of season, be smitten with an occasional attack 
of asthma. While asthma is usually concomitant with 
hay fever, it results also from a variety of other causes. 
Its treatment follows a cfareful study of the individual 
case, the determination of the predisposing influences, 
their mitigation by medical aid, and, if due to an ex- 
ternal excitant, the inertization of the offending in- 
fluence. 

Ways and means for relieving the agonies of hay 
fever and for effecting a permanent cure have occupied 
the attention of expert talent for many years. Thus 
far, no universal medical specific has been discovered, 
though great expectations are attached to the immuni- 
zation treatment with pollen solutions, of compara- 
tively recent exploitation. 

No doubt the best solution of the individual problem 
is a sojourn in a region devoid of the particular 
vegetative growth responsible for the attack. Re- 



312 THE STORY OF DRUGS 

course to this indulgence is possible only for persons 
of affluence or those who can afford to absent them- 
selves from their customary occupations. The rank 
and file of the fraternity must either resign themselves 
to their affliction or transfer their abode to a more 
salubrious environment. 

Many people experience complete immunity at high 
altitudes. This is due to the fact that by far the 
greater number of victims are sensitive to the rag- 
weeds, and these are plants of the lowlands. The 
White Mountain region is a favorite resort for those 
desiring to escape the annual plague. In this section 
above a certain altitude the ragweeds are unknown, 
and here the majority of the affected can go through 
the season in peace and comfort. It is only when the 
warm breezes sweep up from the lower valleys, bring- 
ing an accumulation of pollen from the lowland vege- 
tation, that discomfort is experienced. But the at- 
tacks are usually of an attenuated form and disappear 
with the change of the wind. 

The goldenrods flourish in the higher altitudes as 
profusely as they do in the lowlands. The fact that 
most people who exhibit a typical hay fever at the 
lower levels are immune in the mountains where the 
goldenrods are indigenous points strongly to the com- 
paratively slight influence that this genus has on the 
prevalence of the trouble. 

Some sufferers claim immunity at the seashore, and 
others seek and apparently obtain relief through ex- 
tended ocean voyages. Mental suggestion is credited 
with aiding many cases, but it usually transpires that 
those who have the time to indulge in these metaphysi- 



HAY FEVER 313 

cal diversions also take pains to spend their vacations 
in the mountains. 

Many specific remedial agents have been suggested 
and tried, and often the temporary relief of some of 
the obnoxious symptoms of hay fever has followed their 
use. At one time a popular course of treatment held 
the center of the stage and was credited with effecting 
some remarkable cures. It is probable, however, that 
those who experienced permanent benefit were asth- 
matics instead of genuine hay-fever victims. The 
treatment included a dozen or more different articles, 
including the iodides, which are recognized as being 
efficacious in asthma, and an extract of the Queens- 
land asthma herb, together with various local appli- 
cations, a general tonic, and a laxative. There was 
something to do every hour of the day, so that one al- 
most needed to take a vacation in order to indulge in 
the routine of the treatment. 

Cauterizing the nasal membranes, anesthetizing by 
means of numerous atomized sprays featuring cocain, 
removal of cartilage and bony growth, resort to copious 
draughts and irrigations of sodium bicarbonate, all 
have been heralded as solutions of the problem, and 
have been relegated to their proper places in the 
scheme of symptomatic treatment. 

When adrenalin was introduced, it was hoped that 
this remarkable substance would prove to be the long- 
sought desideratum ; but again the hopes of the enthusi- 
asts were blasted. We may well pause at this point to 
devote a few words to adrenalin, because its discovery 
is one of the outstanding features in the history of the 
materia medica, and because it occupies an un- 



314 THE STORY OF DRUGS 

challenged place in its particular field of usefulness. 

It has long been known that in certain organs situated 
just over the kidneys, known as the suprarenal glands, 
there existed something that had a remarkable effect 
on the blood-pressure. When solutions of these glands 
were introduced into the circulation, the pressure of the 
vital fluid would rise in a marked degree ; when applied 
to open wounds the hemorrhage would cease ; and when 
swabbed on an inflamed surface, the sanguinary color 
would disappear. 

It remained for Takamine, a Japanese chemist, work- 
ing in New York in the late nineties, 'to separate from 
the suprarenal glands of sheep the pure principle to 
which these effects are due. It was named adrenalin, 
and immediately jumped into a popularity that has 
never waned. Some scientists call it epinephrin, but 
to the medical profession it is known as adrenalin. It 
possesses certain properties characteristic of the alka- 
loids, forming salts with acids, one of which, the hy- 
drochloride, furnishes the preparations used in the 
medicinal world. It is unstable in ordinary solutions, 
especially when exposed to the oxygen of the air. But 
because it is extremely powerful in its action it must 
be used at great dilution; hence the hydrochloride is 
marketed in dilutions of one part in a thousand of dis- 
tilled water, the solution being preserved with chlore- 
tone and saturated with carbon dioxide, an inert gas. 

Many hay-fever victims derive considerable benefit 
from the application of very dilute sprays or ointments 
of adrenalin hydrochloride. Others, while obtaining 
immediate relief, later experience increased congestion 
and extra-intense paroxysms of sneezing. 



HAY FEVER 315 

At the present time the attention of the medical pro- 
fession is occupied with the consideration of the vaccine 
and pollen treatment as a means for aborting the onset 
of hay fever. The theory of this remedial practice, 
and the means adopted to produce the vaccine, have 
been detailed at some length in a preceding chapter. 

Before submitting to the treatment, which begins 
eight or ten weeks before the attack is due, the sensi- 
tization of the patient is established. This is for the 
purpose of ascertaining the particular pollen to which 
he is susceptible. Several scratches are made through 
the epidermis on the under side of the forearm, just 
below the elbow, and a drop of the pollen extract of 
first one hay-fever weed and then another, is applied. 
The patient usually shows a marked response to the 
particular pollen to which he is anaphylactic. A weal 
soon develops around the site of the scratch, puffing up 
to a considerable magnitude, and often accompanied by 
a noticeable irritation. 

Having ascertained the identity of the predisposing 
pollen, solutions of a concentrated form of its toxal- 
bumin are injected hypodermically at semi-weekly 
intervals up to the time the attack is ordinarily due. 
Then they are stopped. In the beginning the injections 
are highly dilute, otherwise the patient will show all the 
customary symptoms of an attack of hay fever. But, 
as tolerance is established, higher potencies are ad- 
ministered. 

As yet there are insufficient data to establish the per- 
manent value of this treatment. In some instances no 
relief has followed, though this may have been due to 
an error in the diagnosis and not to the experiment. 



316 THE STORY OF DRUGS 

But in many cases immunity has been established. 
Just how long this immunity may be expected to last is 
uncertain. Some observers believe that it becomes 
weaker as time goes on and should be reinforced an- 
nually ; others find the immunity increasing from year 
to year. 

When all is said and done, hay fever is a peculiar 
malady and reflects the temperament of the American 
to a degree unrivaled by any other idiosyncrasy of the 
race. That which benefits one individual often ap- 
pears to be ineffectual for another. Those who have 
the time and leisure will try one means of relief and 
then another, and never obtain any permanent good 
from any. Their greatest relief seems to come from 
discussing in a group of^sjmilar victims the various 
phases of their malady. "\^ 

The only treatment that appearslfe^*promise per- 
manent results, aside from escape/ to a salubrious 
climate, is the recourse to pollen injection, and that is 
a long-drawn-out affair, and often ends in discourage- 
ment. The average American is not prone to submit 
willingly to anything savoring of procrastination, no 
matter how lazy he may be individually. He wants 
to see immediate results. Hence the bromidic remark, 
so often heard : * i If anyone could invent a cure for hay 
fever, he would make his fortune. ' ' 



CHAPTER XIV 

LEGISLATION AND ITS EFFECT ON 
THE DRUG BUSINESS 

In several of the foregoing chapters references have 
been made to the application of various pieces of legis- 
lation to the conduct of the affairs of the medicine 
manufacturer. We have noted, in passing, that ap- 
prehension on account of the widespread and indis- 
criminate use of opium and other narcotics brought 
about the passage of the Harrison Anti-Narcotic Act. 
We have touched on the work of Dr. Wiley in his ad- 
ministration of the Food and Drugs Act, also on the 
difficult task of the officials of the Bureau of Internal 
Revenue in handling the alcohol question as it applies 
to the medicine industry. 

It remains for us to devote a few words to the 
reactions of the different branches of the drug trade 
to the important pieces of legislation that relate to 
their affairs. 

Within the last two decades the drug and medicine 
business has been almost revolutionized by this legis- 
lation. Although little appreciated, perhaps, by the 
casual observer, it has been of vital significance to the 
trade in the adjustment and conduct of its affairs. The 
revolutionary changes have resulted in large part from 
a general concern for the conservation of the public 
health and realization of the advancement of business 

317 



318 THE STORY OF DRUGS 

ideals. It has been, in the main, a wholesome move- 
ment, though the rules and regulations necessarily 
accompanying it have been irksome, and by some the 
new system has been hailed as a paternal and meddle- 
some interference in personal affairs. 

The most important of these measures, from the 
point of view of the trade as a whole, are the Food 
and Drug Act, popularly known as the Pure Food Law, 
passed in 1906 ; the Anti-Narcotic Act of 1914, known 
as the Harrison Law ; and the Volstead or Prohibition 
Act of 1919. 

Concurrent with these vital pieces of legislation, 
there have been enacted a number of lesser measures 
affecting, for example, the manufacture and handling 
of serums and vaccines; the control of the traffic in 
smoking opium; the shipping of poisons through the 
mails ; the use of denatured alcohol in certain forms of 
medicines ; and the extension of the postal regulations 
to the curbing of fraudulent methods of exploiting fake 
remedies. 

The legislation above mentioned has been passed by 
Congress, and in its scope affects the nation as a whole. 
There have also been passed a number of similar laws 
in the several commonwealths, and municipal ordi- 
nances for handling local conditions. 

As a rule, the federal leglislation has been intel- 
ligently drawn, with the view of causing no unneces- 
sary hardship upon the legitimate trade. In some of 
the States the laws leave little to be desired, and, where 
they affect the traffic in foods and drugs, are modeled 
in general after the federal acts. Some States had 
food and drug laws before the national legislation was 






HAY FEVER 319 

passed, while probably all of them had on the statute- 
books enactments regulating the practice of pharmacy. 

The laws in the various States have often exhibited 
conflicting points, so that a product might bear a label 
that was legal, as to its compliance both to the national 
law and to most of the State acts, and yet be illegal 
in one or two States. 

Greater conflict has occurred among the municipal 
ordinances. Over-enthusiastic health officers are con- 
tinually drawing up regulations reflecting their indi- 
vidual reactions toward drugs and medicines, with 
little or no regard to the saner legislation under which 
the trade as a whole has been functioning for many 
years. This phase of the general movement is per- 
haps the most disconcerting, because it often trans- 
pires that, in order to comply with certain ill-advised 
regulations in a particular city, a manufacturer is 
obliged to change the character of his product and 
draw up a special form of label if he wants to sell 
his goods there. 

The medicine business to-day is not in any sense 
local. A manufacturer in Detroit will sell his wares 
in every State in the Union, and in every city, town, 
and hamlet from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and from 
the Rio Grande to the Canadian border. 

Unification of State laws has been attempted 
through the cooperation of the national government, 
and considerable progress has been made in reaching 
the ends sought. 

The municipal nut is a harder one to crack. Local 
conditions influence the situation, and political con- 
siderations often subordinate the merits of the case, 



320 THE STORY OF DRUGS 

with the result that unnecessary and perhaps ridicu- 
lous measures are sometimes incorporated into the 
legal code. 

A brief insight into the conception and realization 
of the federal leglislation is instructive as well as 
interesting. The more important of these laws have 
come into existence either through a widespread pop- 
ular movement, the interests of which have been fos- 
tered by some outstanding individual, or they have 
been inspired by an official in the employ of the govern- 
ment, who has ridden his hobby with such a wonder- 
ful display of horsemanship that eventually he has 
won the admiration of the populace or the solons of 
Capitol Hill, and through their influence his labors 
have been rewarded by the passage of a law embodying 
his thesis. 

The Anti-Narcotic Act and the Prohibition Law are 
examples of the former class, Hamilton Wright being 
associated with the movement for the control of nar- 
cotics, and Wayne B. Wheeler for sponsoring and put- 
ting across the Prohibition legislation. 

The Food and Drugs Act and the Insecticide and 
Fungicide Law are examples of the second class. 
Years ago there came to the Bureau of Agriculture in 
Washington a man in the prime of life, who with six 
others, comprising the entire chemical staff of the 
Bureau, laid the foundation of the present Bureau of 
Chemistry. This man was Harvey W. Wiley. There 
was then no Department of Agriculture. That branch 
of the government service, which was later to develop 
into a full-fledged department, was known as the Bu- 
reau of Agriculture. It originated as a division of the 
Patent Office, but eventually was divorced from that 



LEGISLATION 321 

association, and, at the time Dr. Wiley came to Wash- 
ington, was leading an unattached and somewhat nebu- 
lous existence, responsible apparently only to the 
President. The Department of Agriculture came into 
being nineteen days before the close of Cleveland r s first 
term. Dr. Wiley 's early efforts centered on sugar 
and sorghum. Gradually his work involved other 
subjects, and in time the study of feeding stuffs and 
then foods in general became necessary, so that when 
the extensive research on foods and their adulteration 
began to show the widespread practices of the man- 
ipulators of the supplies for our breakfast-table, Dr. 
Wiley plunged headlong into his life-work, and the 
foundations of the Food and Drugs Act were laid. 

Long before this time, however, the old Bureau of 
Agriculture had been transformed into a department, 
and the chemical laboratory had passed through the 
adolescent stage of a division and was a full-fledged 
Bureau of Chemistry. 

While Wiley was riding toward his goal, there came 
to Washington and became attached to the Bureau a 
young man named Haywood. He was an indefati- 
gable and tireless worker, and soon found his hobby 
among the numerous pastes and powders designed to 
protect the growing crops from the ravages of bugs, 
insects, and fungous disease. He discovered that 
there was as much need for improvement in the char- 
acter of the articles intended to protect the farmers' 
crops from insect pests, and his cattle and poultry 
from ticks and lice, as Wiley found in the food sup- 
plies. 

Dr. Wiley's persistence and intrepidity eventuated 



322 THE STORY OF DRUGS 

in the passage of the Pure Food Law, and a few years 
later Haywood's efforts were crowned with success 
when the Insecticide and Fungicide Act was enacted. 

These two cases are typical of the course followed 
in the development of legislation originating within 
governmental offices. 

Of all the legislation affecting the medicine busi- 
ness, none other has been so far-reaching as the Food 
and Drugs Act. 

Unquestionably there was vital need for this law. 
We have already discussed the inter-relation of the 
several branches of the drug trade, and the dependence 
of one factor on the operations of the others. As 
the volume of business increased and the various 
branches of the industry became more competitive, un- 
scrupulous methods arose, seriously handicapping 
those who were endeavoring to maintain high ideals of 
business integrity. Crude drugs were adulterated 
with inert vegetable matter or loaded with sand and 
gravel. Powdered drugs were sophisticated with 
foreign material that could not be detected by the 
ordinary methods of examination. Substitution was 
a common practice. 

Higher standards were maintained by the manufac- 
turers of the medicinal chemicals, but even among the 
medicine-makers there were many firms whose prod- 
ucts were below standard. Thus was created a situ- 
ation that was not only disheartening to those dealers 
and manufacturers who were trying to do a legitimate 
business, but a grave menace to the public health. 

The physician demands dependable remedies for 
combating the numerous emergencies he is called upon 



LEGISLATION 323 

to face. It is not his province to test the potency of 
his supplies, either of those he dispenses or of those 
he prescribe^. He depends upon the purveyor for the 
character of the medicine. If he requires a tincture of 
digitalis to combat a crisis, it must be a potent prep- 
aration made from an active drug. He can accept 
no substitute. There can be no failure on account 
of the adulteration of the medicine he prescribes. 
Nevertheless, if the digitalis leaf is not of proper 
quality, if the tincture is inert, his results are nega- 
tive and his case is lost. 

Previous to the enactment of the Food and Drugs 
Act, except in the statutes of a few of the States, there 
was no way by which the quality of the crude material 
and the finished medicines made therefrom could be 
regulated. To be sure, there were standards pre- 
scribed by the Pharmacopoeia and National Formulary, 
and the reputable houses made their medicines in com- 
pliance therewith. But competition was keen, and 
through various sources the market was flooded with 
substandard supplies. 

•Among the package medicines sold directly to the 
public great abuses existed. Scores of them were pure 
fakes, while most of the labels bore impossible claims 
or statements of an exaggerated character. These 
conditions reacted unfavorably against the meritorious 
remedies of this class, of which there were many. An 
indiscriminate propaganda was inaugurated, involving 
all " patent' ' medicines and proprietaries, which has 
continued to this day. 

The events leading up to the passage of the Food 
and Drugs Act were hectic in the extreme. Immense 



324 THE STORY OF DRUGS 

sums were spent to defeat it ; but on June 30, 1906, the 
bill, having passed both houses of Congress, was signed 
by President Roosevelt, and became the law of the 
land. Its constitutionality has since been fixed by the 
Supreme Court, and its clarification, in so far as the 
medicine trade is concerned, has been fixed by the 
Sherley Amendment, which amplified the provisions 
relating to its application to false and fraudulent 
claims in the matter of labeling. 

Many interesting situations developed in the early 
days of its administration. Fraudulent practices that 
had become tradition in the importing industry were 
exposed and corrected. Asafetida, which had there- 
tofore been heavily sophisticated with pebbles and 
dirt, was made to discard these encumbrances. Dec- 
orated saffron and a factitious substitute called femi- 
nella, composed of calendula florets colored with a coal- 
tar dye and weighted with oil, were apprehended, and 
either made to be divested of their disguises or ex- 
cluded from the country. Opium balls, concealing 
chunks of lead and other foreign burdens, were made 
to reveal their false gravity. Immense importations 
of ground olive-stones, when questioned, were found 
to be intended for the purpose of adulterating 
powdered drugs. Shipments of roots, barks, and 
leaves carelessly packed and full of dirt, inert sticks, 
stems, chicken feathers, and other junk, were stopped 
at the ports of entry, and either sent back to their 
places of origin or kept in quarantine until they were 
renovated. A howl went up from the crude-drug 
trade; but, cooperation being more profitable than 
antagonism, the protests eventually subsided. 



LEGISLATION 325 

As matters stand to-day, the crude-drug supplies 
entering our ports from foreign sources are, in the 
main, relatively free from the debris that ordinarily 
accompanied the shipments of a decade and a half ago. 

Among some of the interesting fraudulent remedies 
that fell afoul of the administrative officers, may be 
mentioned one claiming to exhibit the virtues of beaver 
oil. It was recommended for all the bodily pains and 
inflammations, from headache to chilblain. On 
analysis it was found to consist of sassafras oil and the 
essential hot principle of capsicum (red pepper) 
dissolved in gasoline. 

Another remarkable offering, for the treatment of 
pimples, blackheads, rash, blemishes, sunburn, and 
chapped hands, called "skin food" by its exploiters, 
was found, on examination, to consist of epsom salts 
colored a vivid shade of pink. Possibly it was correctly 
named * ' Skin ' ' food, but in the vernacular. 

Humbug Oil, possibly a truthful title and expressive 
to say the least, for the relief of diphtheria, on ex- 
posure was shown to consist essentially of a mixture of 
turpentine, linseed oil, and ammonia, with ammonium 
salts and a volatile alkaloid dissolved in the liquid. 

One of the most vicious types of fake medicines 
flourishing at that period was a cancer cure that 
claimed to possess the virtues of radium. The treat- 
ment was found to show no evidence of radioactivity, 
and a fluorescent manifestation, which the promoter 
baldly claimed to be due to radium, was caused by a 
minute quantity of quinin, which has the property of 
exhibiting a bluish fluorescence in acidulated water. 

The exaggerated claims in the labels and circulars 



326 THE STORY OF DRUGS 

of medicines sold directly to the public were not con- 
fined to those that were manifestly fraudulent. To a 
considerable extent they featured the presentation of 
meritorious proprietaries. The natural result of this 
condition was that all preparations intended for 
popular sale were considered to be of the same ilk, so 
that most of them became involved in the investigations 
that were instituted after the law went into effect. 
But those remedies possessing any excuse for their 
existence soon established themselves under the new 
regime. The general house-cleaning that took place 
freed them from the odium previously attached to the 
patent-medicine industry, and their true significance in 
the nation's economy was recognized. 

The Food and Drugs Act has brought about an im- 
provement in the quality of the crude material that 
enters into the composition of medicines; it has 
reduced to a minimum the traffic in substandard 
remedies; it has made it encumbent on the manu- 
facturer to label his wares so that there will be no 
doubt about what they will do, and, if the ingredients 
are enumerated, to declare them properly ; it has been 
instrumental in destroying the fraudulent exploitation 
of worthless concoctions ; and it has defined the status 
of the legitimate proprietary. 

The salutary results of the Pure Food Law are ap- 
preciable to larger extent perhaps, in their public 
aspect, than in their relation to the direct interests in- 
volved. In so far as the administration of the law ap- 
plies to the ethical conduct of the numerous branches 
and ramifications of the drug trade, its success or fail- 
ure depends on the tolerance and resourcefulness of 



LEGISLATION 327 

the administrative officials. The menace of the techni- 
cal hobbyist ever dangles over the legitimate business, 
like the sword of Damocles. The working out of the 
provisions of the law during its fourteen years of exist- 
ence has produced a state of neurotic apprehension in 
the trade, due to the uncertainty of its application to 
the various interests involved. This is not a criticism 
of the law itself, nor of those who have been honestly 
and conscientiously concerned in its enforcement. The 
scientific enthusiast (and this law is, in the end, 
administered by scientific talent) often loses sight of 
all aspects of his subject other than the particular point 
of view he has assumed. The result is that, in attempt- 
ing to gain his point or to enforce his idea on the drug 
and medicine business, he runs afoul of facts and con- 
ditions of which he knows nothing, and perhaps, by 
belittling their significance in order to push his ad- 
vantage, unwarranted hardship is inflicted. 

Take, for example, the effect of this attitude on the 
manufacture and sale of medicines. It often happens 
that in a circumscribed region certain types of 
remedies are popular with both the physician and the 
public. Their employment outside of this region may 
perhaps be slight or even unknown. The facts of their 
use may have been of casual knowledge to the pro- 
fession at large, or perhaps, on account of the contro- 
versial opinions prevalent in the medical world, their 
value in general may be ridiculed. But the recognition 
of debatable therapeutic ideas in opposition to a well 
grounded medical usage should have no place in the im- 
partial administration of a law as far-reaching in its 
effects as the Food and Drugs Act. 



328 THE STORY OF DRUGS 

If a drug or a remedy or a group of remedies can be 
shown to have alleviated diseased conditions, or to 
have brought about a restoration to health, no obstacle 
should be placed on their legitimate use. Unfortu- 
nately, scientific hobbyism has sometimes marred the 
administration of the law, and for this reason the trade 
in general may be said to have acquired an attitude of 
tolerant contempt consequent to its operation, and to 
be continually in a state of neurotic apprehension. 

A simple illustration or two will show the status of 
the case. Not long ago it transpired that, while dis- 
cussing with a group of the administrative scientists 
the reasonable limits to which one might go in 
developing a remedy for a definite state of ill health, 
the question was asked whether a certain drug, with 
well established properties, might not be added to the 
formula in order to round out its efficiency. The 
official on whom the final decision rested promptly 
replied that he had never heard of that drug; and yet, 
it was one described in the medical and pharmaceutical 
text-books and its therapy has been well established. 

On another occasion, when administrative prejudice 
had been directed against one of the most widely used 
drugs in the materia medica, an advocate in its behalf 
offered to put the question of its effects, then under de- 
bate, to a group of scientists to be selected within and 
without the government staff. In answer, the official 
said that it mattered not if all the professional opinions 
in the world were contrary to his — the attitude and 
policy that he had assumed would remain unchanged. 

These instances are not cited in a spirit of criticism. 
Our exposition is concerned only in outlining the 




HARVEY W. WILEY 

Responsible for the Food & Drugs 

Act Popularly Known as the "Pure 

Food Law" 





WAYNE B. WHEELER 

Identified with the Passage of the 
Prohibition Law 



HAMILTON WRIGHT 

Author of and Responsible for the 
Passage of the Anti-Narcotic Law 




SP 



si 



3Z 




LEGISLATION 329 

effects of legislation on the drug business and in 
noting the causes of existing and undisputed condi- 
tions. 

Somewhat in contrast to the uncertainty that has 
characterized the administration of certain features 
of the Food and Drugs Act is the straightforward 
policy shown by the officials in charge of the Insecti- 
cide and Fungicide Law. While this legislation is con- 
cerned primarily with the control of the traffic in 
preparations used for destroying insects and fungi, it 
extends also to antiseptics and germicides. Both of 
the latter are made and sold by the drug trade. It 
has been a very simple matter for a firm, desirous of 
complying with the law or of obtaining direct in- 
formation on an obscure or doubtful point of labeling, 
to receive the help and cooperation of the Insecticide 
and Fungicide officials. The attitude assumed by the 
Haywood Board has been a distinct help to the drug 
trade and its individual members, whenever they have 
sought its advice and cooperation. 

While the Food and Drugs Act has been effectual in 
curbing many of the objectional practices menacing 
the drug business, there were certain types outside of 
its jurisdiction, and it is in order to refer at this point 
to the activities of the postal authorities in their 
relation to the progressive movement in the general 
revolution. The regulations affecting the operations of 
the mails provide for the exclusion of matter of fraudu- 
lent character, especially if the schemes include the tak- 
ing of money under false pretenses. Numerous de- 
ceptions were being practised by means of newspaper 
advertising and correspondence. The projects in- 



330 THE STOEY OF DRUGS 

eluded cures for cancer, drunkenness, the dope habit, 
consumption, rupture, and similar vital ailments. The 
fraudulent features of the exploitation occurred in the 
advertising or in the correspondence, whereas the 
package of medicine, in many cases, contained noth- 
ing objectionable except, perhaps, the product itself. 
It must be understood that under the provisions of the 
Pood and Drugs Act, no action can be taken against a 
preparation or a firm handling it, unless it goes from 
one State to another, and unless its label contains false 
claims and misrepresentations, or the circular ac- 
companying the package features similar material. 
Owing to this situation, many products were immune 
from the provisions of the law, because their exploiters 
were clever enough to confine their utterances to corre- 
spondence and the press. But Nemesis finally overtook 
the exploiters in the shape of the Post-Office inspector, 
and fraud orders, with consequent exclusion from the 
mails of their correspondence and advertising, became 
the order of the day. 

One of the cancer cures put down by the Post-Office 
authorities consisted of a combination treatment of 
several so-called " prescriptions' ' which were found, 
on analysis, to consist of a clay poultice like anti- 
phlogistine, a can of vaseline, a bottle of sarsaparilla 
compound, a tablet composed of talc and sugar, and 
an embrocation featuring the fixed oils of cotton-seed 
and sweet almond. Another widely advertised treat- 
ment consisted of a small drug establishment with two 
dozen or more articles and preparations. But perhaps 
the most interesting fake exposed by the heartless 
officials depended for its virtues upon a mixture of 



LEGISLATION 331 

sand and clay. With this it promised to draw the 
"cancers" out through the pores, and its promoter 
glibly asserted that if a lump of butter were placed on 
one side of a two-inch plank and the absorbent material 
on the other, the grease would be drawn right through 
the pores of the wood. 

Space will not permit of a detailed account of the 
alleged cures for consumption, the drug habit, drunken- 
ness, obesity, and rupture that were exposed by the 
postal authorities. The detail of collecting and ex- 
amining these fraudulent remedies has been carried 
out at the Bureau of Chemistry in cooperation with the 
Post-Office Department. The credit for the successful 
outcome of the work is due, in a large measure, to 
Lyman F. Kebler, who, with untiring persistence, has 
methodically pursued each and every questionable 
nostrum, as its lurid presentation has blazoned 
forth in the advertising columns, until there is slight 
inducement for continuing this method of exploitation 
in a wholesale fashion. Through the persistent ef- 
forts of these workers, the drug trade has been shorn 
of a great encumbrance, while its tone has been mark- 
edly elevated since these impossible schemes have 
been put down. 

The Anti-Narcotic Act of 1914 sounded the death- 
knell of most of the dope-habit treatments formerly 
dispensed indiscriminately by a group of so-called 
"sanitariums" scattered over the country. The treat- 
ments usually consisted of the same narcotic drugs that 
the addicts were trying to break away from. The 
Food and Drugs Act had little or no effect on this 
practice, other than to require declarations on the 



332 THE STORY OF DRUGS 

label of the quantity of narcotic drug contained in the 
bottle. But the Harrison Law was sufficiently drastic 
in its provisions to prevent the further traffic in those 
preparations. 

The legitimate drug trade was never disposed to fur- 
ther the indiscriminate sale of opiates and cocain; 
hence the advent of this legislation was effectual in 
freeing it from the possible odium of being the means 
of making the evil possible. Except for the necessity 
of keeping an additional volume of records demanded 
by the regulations, the trade has experienced no great 
inconvenience. 

The recovery of morphin from opium and of cocain 
from coca leaf, and the conversion of these alkaloids 
into pure salts acceptable to the maker of medicines 
and the dispensing physician, has always been a 
lucrative feature of the manufacturing industry. To 
what proportional extent it figures in the aggregate 
business of this branch of the drug industry it is some- 
what difficult to estimate, but it is not inconsiderable. 
In any event, whenever steps have been taken to im- 
pose further restrictions on the importation of the 
crude drugs, or to place closer supervision on their 
journey in the direction of the ultimate consumer, the 
manufacturing chemists have sought aggressively to 
conserve their prerogatives and prevent the passage 
of obnoxious legislation. 

As far as the rank and file of the retail drug trade is 
concerned, the handling of narcotic drugs is a heredi- 
tary feature of its business naturally acquired. It is 
an accommodation to the medical profession. If by 
any other way than over the counter of the retail drug- 



LEGISLATION 333 

store legitimate individual requirements of narcotic 
drugs and their compounds and preparations could be 
made available to the ultimate consumer, this branch 
of the industry would surrender the franchise with 
scarcely a ripple of protest. 

The Anti-Narcotic Law has stopped the open, in- 
discriminate distribution of cocain and the opiates. 
To what extent it will prevent the underground traffic, 
the smuggling, and the leaks that occur through un- 
scrupulous dealers, will depend on the activities and 
resourcefulness of the enforcing officers, as well as on 
the moral support and sympathy of the population at 
large. We have already discussed the broad features 
of the situation in an earlier chapter, and have noted 
the extent to which addiction is prevalent in this 
country. One effect of the law has been practically to 
eliminate the dispensing pharmacist as a factor in the 
further spread of the evil. The responsibility is now 
largely in the hands of the medical profession, and 
indirectly up to the manufacturing chemist and the 
makers of medicines who, in the natural course of their 
operation, prepare enough only for their trade re- 
quirements in the shape of orders which, as far as 
they know, are bona-fide. The manufacturer of pro- 
prietary remedies is not at all a factor in the sale of 
narcotics. He could not be if he had any desire to 
further this traffic. He is absolutely shut off under 
the provisions of the Harrison Act. 

How far it is incumbent upon the manufacturing 
chemist or the maker of medicines, from a moral point 
of view, to ascertain the purpose for which his wares 
are destined, is a question that cannot be debated here. 



334 THE STORY OF DRUGS 

The determination of the ultimate destination and 
purpose of an order of narcotics is usually difficult.- 
In the case of alcoholic medicines the case is different, 
as we shall see in discussing the Prohibition Law, and 
the manufacturer has very little difficulty in surmising 
the purpose indicated by the orders of his customers. 
But with narcotic drugs and medicines the case is 
different, and the moral obligations are necessarily 
more obscure. 

Viewed from all aspects and taken by and large, the 
Narcotic Act has had a distinct beneficial influence on 
the drug industry. 

We now come to the most recent, and at the same 
time the most revolutionary, piece of legislation that 
has affected the drug industry since its establishment 
on the present basis of the relationship of one branch 
of the trade to another. The eighteenth Amendment, 
and the Volstead Act, enacted for the purpose of carry- 
ing out its spirit, and the intricate regulations drafted 
to enforce its provisions, have affected the drug and 
medicine industry from top to bottom, save, perhaps, 
the dealer in crude drugs alone. 

Its immediate effect has been to transfer the 
handling of the liquor traffic to the drug trade, an 
adoption that the latter has by no means been keen to 
accept. An industry, already overburdened with a 
multitude of formalities that it was obliged to observe 
in the legitimate conduct of its business, suddenly 
found itself the foster-parent of a full-grown, ob- 
streperous, and somewhat execrated orphan, already 
encumbered with legislation, and admonished to pro- 
vide for its welfare but to keep it out of trouble. It 



LEGISLATION 335 

has been a big order, and the adjustment has not yet 
been accomplished. 

Not only has the drug trade been charged with the 
responsibility of handling alcoholic beverages, but, 
being itself a large consumer of alcohol, it has been 
overwhelmed with a mass of new rules and regulations 
affecting the employment of this commodity in the con- 
duct of its own business. 

It was an unfortunate circumstance that the framers 
of the Prohibition Law either were unable or did not 
want to appreciate the significance of alcohol as an 
essential element of certain types of medicines, and as 
a necessary manipulative agent in the preparation of 
a vast number of drugs and medicinal chemicals. The 
provisions of the law made no distinction between 
those preparations designed to aid the sick and those 
that were for pleasurable purposes. The proscriptions 
on the traffic applied to- both impartially. 

The belief that many alcoholic medicines were dis- 
guised liquors, and that the chief virtue of alcohol-con- 
taining remedies lay in the alcohol, was generally cur- 
rent among those who had not taken the pains to 
learn the real status of medicine compounding. No 
doubt these ideas prevailed in the minds of those en- 
gaged in framing the legislation. In any event, the 
situation has been brought about that the manufacture 
and sale of such a potent and toxic medicinal agent as 
fluid extract nux vomica is surrounded with the same 
elaborate supervision and regulation that obtains in 
the making and selling of the wine of the communion- 
table. 

We have already, in an earlier chapter, attempted to 



336 THE STORY OF DRUGS 

outline the established place that alcohol occupies in 
relation to the drug and medicine industry, and have 
shown the fallacy of a popular idea that certain types 
of remedies enjoying an unrestricted sale were dis- 
guised beverages. We need not go further into this 
phase of the subject, but the points have been recalled 
because they have a direct bearing on the application 
of the Prohibition Law to medicines, and the mistaken 
notions concerning their significance no doubt in- 
fluenced to a considerable degree the construction of 
the bill. 

The going into effect of the law transferred the sale 
of alcoholic beverages from the liquor industry to the 
wholesale and retail drug trade. It also had the con- 
verse effect of bringing into existence a host of new 
druggists and medicine manufacturers through a 
metamorphosis in the status of a majority of the firms 
previously engaged in handling liquor. The result 
was that the country became flooded with a number of 
extraordinary preparations masquerading as medicine. 
They were prepared by virtue of legitimate permits 
granted by the Bureau of Internal Revenue, but the 
vehicular constituents, which often consisted of whisky 
or wine, were usually more appreciable than the 
medicating agents. Moreover, the makers would often 
substitute in the formulas products that did not 
comply strictly with the ingredients they had declared 
when applying for their permit at the Bureau. As an 
illustration, we will refer to the situation that 
developed in connection with a class of these new prod- 
ucts of the type of tonic-laxatives. 

Authority was given to manufacture these prepa- 



LEGISLATION 337 

rations, with their medicinal value and non-beverage 
character based on the presence of a definite dosage 
of the drug known as cascara. When straight cascara 
or its fluid extract functions in a preparation, the 
physiological effect of the drug on both the palate and 
the intestines bespeaks its presence. Had the manu- 
facturers of the new products confined themselves to 
the use of the straight drugs, the scandalous conditions 
that soon developed would have been avoided. But 
the market is bristling with a great variety of so-called 
"tasteless," "bitterless," and "aromatized" cascaras, 
and with other forms claiming to feature the drug in a 
manipulated state. Virtually all of them are unob- 
noxious from the standpoint of bitterness, which, as we 
all know, is one of the characteristic properties of un- 
adulterated cascara. Substitution of these products 
in place of straight cascara soon became a wholesale 
practice, with the result that the "unfit-for-beverage 
purpose" character of the new preparations disap- 
peared, and they were consumed in enormous quanti- 
ties to satisfy the craving for liquor. 

The entire drug industry suffered disrepute on ac- 
count of these conditions; but fortunately the ad- 
ministrative officers appreciated the situation, so that, 
with the renewals of the permits for doing business in 
1921, the offending products had to fall into line as 
true medicines or else retire from the market. 

A literal interpretation of the law would tend to 
prevent the indulgence in some of the well known 
household prescriptions — such as beef, iron, and wine, 
a favorite tonic during convalescence ; Jamaica ginger, 
the panacea for green-apple days; essence of pepsin 



338 THE STORY OF DRUGS 

and lactated pepsin, those yellow and pink reliefs for 
the results of our offenses against gastronomy — be- 
cause such products are not disagreeable to the taste 
and, strictly speaking, might fall into a class that is fit 
for beverage purposes. Then, there is an important 
class of remedies known as the reconstructive tonics, 
which may vary considerably in composition, depend- 
ing on the purposes for which they are to be used or the 
idiosyncrasies of the patients, but which have this 
property in common, that in general they are quite 
palatable. They have to be pleasant to take, because 
they are consumed in fairly large dosage, often a wine- 
glass or more at a time ; this is necessarily so because 
of the dilution of the active medicinal agents in solu- 
tion. The virtue of a tonic in convalescence is that it 
provides relatively small amounts of medication at 
each ingestion, but at fairly frequent and consistent 
intervals. At such times the patient's system is in a 
sensitive state, so that a tonic remedy must be of such 
character that it will not be obnoxious to the stomach 
or objectionable to the organs of taste and smell. 

The administrators of the law have assumed a 
liberal attitude toward these remedies, though there 
has been ample evidence that in some quarters they 
have been sold and used for other than remedial 
purposes. As a rule, the unlawful traffic has been a 
connivance on the part of mushroom firms and has 
been no part of the business of the old-line houses. In 
fact, the established trade in all its branches has given 
the Prohibition officers its support and assistance un- 
grudgingly, in spite of the fact that the new order of 



LEGISLATION 339 

things has added an increased amount of burden and 
detail to the conduct of its affairs. 

The trade itself is, perhaps, in a better position to 
know whether its products are being diverted to unlaw- 
ful purposes than are the Prohibition officials. When 
preparations become popular for the satisfaction they 
impart because of the alcohol they contain, the con- 
sumption increases out of all proportion to legitimate 
medical requirements, and there is no difficulty in ac- 
counting for the abnormal popularity. For instance, 
it is customary to supply the retail customer with 
liquid preparations packed in bottles holding not more 
than a pint. There is, of course, considerable business 
in large packages, gallons and even barrels, but in the 
aggregate the bulk of the traffic is limited to the family 
size. Therefore, when small dealers, country stores, 
and cross-roads centers begin to order beef, iron, and 
wine, Jamaica ginger, bay rum, and essence of pepsin 
in barrel quantities, and to follow up their purchases 
week after week, there is no doubt about the ultimate 
purpose for which they are destined. The trade has a 
moral responsibility, as a law-conforming body, to 
limit this sbrt of traffic, and the administration feels 
that it has a right to expect this cooperation. 

With the advent of national prohibition, certain 
changes occurred in the regulations pertaining to the 
use of denatured alcohol, and its use in the drug 
industry has become greatly extended. Before that 
time it had been the practice to restrict the use of 
denatured alcohol in medicines to the preparation of 
those articles where the alcohol did not function in the 



340 THE STORY OF DRUGS 

finished product. There had been an exception in the 
case of tincture of iodin and a few liniments that could 
be made up with a highly denatured formula. Tincture 
of iodin and liniments are unfit to drink anyway, so it 
was not difficult to adjust their formulation to the use 
of special formulas of denatured alcohol. 

Soon after the Volstead Act was passed, the exten- 
sion of the use of denatured alcohol to all sorts of ex- 
ternal remedies became the policy of the Bureau of In- 
ternal Revenue, and was quite generally taken advan- 
tage of by the trade. Hair-tonics, shampoos, antisep- 
tic washes, dentifrices, lotions, toilet waters, and 
finally perfumes were gradually included within the 
privileged circle. 

The trade that has been able to take advantage of 
the use of denatured alcohol has been to that extent 
free from the uncertainties and perplexities that 
attend the employment of the pure spirit or, as it is 
termed, non-beverage alcohol. Furthermore, this 
alcohol is free from tax, a not unimportant item in the 
cost of doing a year's business, especially if it runs 
into many carloads of alcohol. 

One of the minor pieces of legislation affecting the 
drug industry is the act of July 1, 1902, licensing the 
manufacturing of serums and vaccines under the super- 
vision of the Public Health Service. Prior to that 
time anyone could engage in the preparation of these 
delicate prophylactic and curative agents, and the 
articles produced by some of the firms in the business 
were often lacking in certain desirable characters. 
Accidents had happened through infection by foreign 
organisms. Smallpox vaccine had been contaminated 



LEGISLATION 341 

with tetanus microbes, resulting in dire consequences 
to the patient under inoculation. Inert and attenuated 
vaccines and serums were not uncommon, and many 
painful experiences had been reported following the 
use of anti-toxin that had not been properly sterilized. 

When it is realized that these substances have to be 
made under conditions that will assure their absolute 
asepsis, it is apparent that they should be manufac- 
tured only by those firms possessing the proper talent 
and intelligence to conduct the intricate processes nec- 
essary to evolve products of unquestionable character. 

Government supervision of the manufacture of 
vaccines and serums has proved as great a benefit to 
this industry as the operation of the meat inspection 
service has to the packing trade. 

Eef erence has already been made to the activities of 
the Bureau of Biological Survey in controlling the 
indigenous predatory wild animals. The work ac- 
complished has been in the interest of the public health 
and the stock-raising industry, and cannot be said to 
have had any direct influence on the drug trade, except 
in so far as it benefits the manufacturing chemist pro- 
viding the strychnin and saccharin. In the same way, 
the federal quarantine regulations affecting the 
handling of stock on the ranges during growth and be- 
fore shipment to market have been instrumental in 
developing an enormous demand for chemical dips and 
antiseptics. 

The legislation of the past two decades has had a 
beneficial effect on the public health, and no doubt, to 
some extent, has resulted in an improvement in 
business morality. Its direct influence on the drug 



342 THE STORY OF DRUGS 

and medicine trade, while often hampering in the ex- 
treme, has in its broader aspect been wholesome, 
though if the retail druggist were asked his opinion he 
would probably hold up his hands and shake his head. 
But it has purged the fraternity of some of its crooks 
and curbed their nefarious practices, which alone was 
worth while. 

The conduct of the retail drug business has been 
invested with a multitude of municipal ordinances and 
State regulations regarding the practice of pharmacy. 
As each and every new law has been written on the 
statute-books, a host of new proscriptions have 
descended on the proprietor of the corner drug-store, 
until to-day compliance with the multifarious details 
of regulations requires the keeping of a small library 
of blanks and forms, and the rendering of voluminous 
reports to city, State, and federal authorities, as well 
as eternal vigilance to prevent the innocent over- 
stepping of the law by clerks and other retainers. The 
day of the old-fashioned pharmacist has gone, much as 
his passing may be regretted. He has joined the lost 
races at a comparatively recent date, coincident with 
the passing of the buffalo and the wild pigeon from the 
native fauna. 

In place of this revered and truly professional char- 
acter in the business life of the nation has come one no 
less respected, and clothed not with less but with many 
times the responsibility — a business man whose pro- 
fessional leanings and ability have to take second place 
to commercial sagacity and auditorial acumen. 

It would seem as if the drug trade had become in- 
volved in about all the various types of legislation that 



LEGISLATION 343 

could possibly be imposed upon it. The temper of the 
public made the larger federal measures inevitable. 
The State laws are necessary, and municipal ordinances 
will ever be a feature of our political complexion. 

In time the efforts of the patriotic gentlemen high in 
the councils of our medical and pharmaceutical pro- 
fessions will bring about a uniformity in the laws 
regulating the practice of pharmacy, smooth out the 
rough places and inconsistencies in federal regulations, 
develop a tolerance on the part of the local health 
officers and boards of health, and a realization that 
untimely and senseless restrictive rules have no place 
in the onward progress of our economic life. 



APPENDIX 

The Family Medicine-Chest 

or 
Household Armamentarium 

Acetic Acid, Glacial (for warts) 

Alcohol 

Alcoholic Lead Acetate (for ivy and sumac poisoning) 

Alum 

Ammonia Water 

Aromatic Spirit of Ammonia 

Asthma Relief 

Beef Extract 

Blackberry Cordial 

Boric Acid 

Brandy 

Bromo Seltzer or Capudine (for headache) 

Camphocene (for cold-sores and fever-blisters) 

Note. Neither the author nor the publishers hold any brief or rec- 
ommendation for the efficacy of the remedies in the appended list. 
Either these medicines or those of similar type and character are in 
daily use in the households of the country. Some are now virtually 
national institutions, and the mention of them by name carries no 
greater significance than would >a reference to Rolled Oats, Baker's 
Chocolate, Gold Medal Flour or Fleischmann's Yeast. The ingredients 
composing these remedies are recognized by the authorities of the 
medical profession as being indicated in the conditions for which they 
are intended, and the list in the aggregate, represents the type of sup- 
plies that the people themselves have settled upon for their own use, 
and as first aid to the doctor when he is called in an emergency. 

345 



346 APPENDIX 

Camphorated Oil (externally for sore throat, congestion in 
chest, etc.) 

Camphorated Tincture of Opium (Paregoric) 

Capsicum Plasters 

Capsules Chloretone, 5-grain (for seasickness) 

Capsules Cod-Liver Oil 

Carbolated Vaseline 

Carron Oil (for burns) 

Castoria 

Castor Oil 

Chalk Mixture 

Chloranodyne 

Clam Bouillon 

Collodion 

Compound Licorice Powder 

Compound Tincture of Gentian 

Corn Remedy 

Court Plaster 

Cough Syrup — Golf's, Foley's Honey and Tar, or some 
other equally good brand 

Dandruff Remover and Hair Wash 

Dioxogen (or any brand of hydrogen peroxide) 

Dilute Carbolic Acid 

Distilled Extract Witch Hazel 

Dover's Powder 

Bar Syringe 

Elixir Buchu Juniper and Potassium Acetate 

Elixir Heroin and Terpin Hydrate 

Elixir of Salicylates 

Emergency Surgical Outfit, Red Cross 

Extract of Jamaica Ginger 

Female Tonic. Wine of Cardui, Pinkham's Vegetable Com- 
pound or similar preparations. 



APPENDIX 347 

Flax-Seed Meal 

Fluid Extract Grindelia (for ivy poison) 

Fluid Extract Cascara 

Globules Colchicin and Methyl Salicylate 

Glycerin 

Glycerin Suppositories 

Glycerite of Tannic Acid (for an astringent gargle) 

Glycothymoline or some other alkaline antiseptic wash 

Granular Effervescent Magnesium Citrate 

Granular Effervescent Sodium Phosphate 

Hoffmann's Anodyne 

Hypodermic Syringe and Needles 

Ichthyol Ointment (for eczema) 

Lapactic Pills 

Laxative Bromo-Quinin (for colds and fever) 

Liquid Petrolatum (Albolene) 

Listerine or some other acid antiseptic wash 

Lysol (for general antiseptic purposes, sanitary douching, 

etc.) 
Malted Milk 
Mentholatum (for piles, sore throat, congestion of the nasal 

passages, etc.) 
Menthol Inhaler 

Mercurial Ointment (for external parasites, itch-mites, etc.) 
Milk of Magnesia 
Mixture Rhubarb and Soda (for diarrhea and summer 

cholera) 
Mustard Plaster 
Nasal Douche 
Oil of Citronella 
Oil of Cloves 

Pearls of Amyl Nitrite (for cramps and fainting) 
Pile Ointment 



348 APPENDIX 

Pills, Blaud's Mass, 5 grains 

Pills, Podophyllin K grain (for torpidity of the liver) 

Pills, Quinin Bisulphate 2% grains (for malaria) 

Potassium Permanganate Crystals (for snake-bite) 

Prickly-Heat Powder 

Resinol Ointment 

Rheumatism Remedy 

Sal Hepatica (aperient and saline laxative) 

Sarsaparilla or Alterative Mixture (Blood Purifier) 

Scott's Emulsion 

Seidlitz Powder 

Soap Liniment 

Sodium Bicarbonate (cooking soda) 

Sodium Bromide 

Solution Argyrol — 25 per cent, (germicide and for aborting 

nasal colds, especially in children) 
Solution Boric Acid, Saturated (for bathing the eyes) 
Solution Iron Chloride (for nose-bleed and for mixing with 

ammonia and milk of magnesia as an antidote for arsenic 

poisoning — " Rough on Rats") 
Spirit of Camphor 
Spirit of Nitrous Ether (for fever) 
Sulphur Flowers 
Syrup of Iron Iodide 
Syrup White Pine and Tar 
Tablets, Aloin, Belladona, Strychnin, and Cascara (for 

general laxative purposes) 
Tablets, Antipyrin % grain (for whooping cough) 
Tablets, Aromatic Digestive 
Tablets, Aspirin 5 grains 
Tablets, Calomel, % grain 
Tablets, Camphomenthol (for coughs and tickling of the 

throat) 



APPENDIX 349 

Tablets, Chlorozene (for preparing antiseptic douche) 

Tablets, Normal Saline Solution (for nasal douche and gargle) 

Tablets, Soda Mint 

Tablets, Sun Cholera Mixture 

Tablets, Uterine Astringent and Antiseptic (for preparing 

douche for vaginal catarrh, etc.) 
Tablets, Veronal 
Talcum Powder, Borated 

Tannic Acid Crystals (for an astringent and for nose-bleed) 
Throat Lozenge 
Thymol Iodide (Aristol) 
Tincture of Aconite (for fever) 
Tincture of Arnica 
Tincture of Iodine 

Tincture of Myrrh (astringent for spongy gums) 
Toothache Wax 
Vaseline, or Petrolatum 

Vermifuge — Some mixtures in liquid form like Jayne's or 
other good brand. 
Vick's Vaporub 
Whisky 

Witch Hazel Jelly (for sunburn and chapped hands) 
Zinc Oxide Ointment 
Zinc Stearate 



INDEX 



Aeetanilid, 211 

Acetone, 80 

Acid, Chaulmoogric, 158 

Hydnocarpic, 158 

Boric, 12, 291 
Adams, A. B., 225 
Adrenalin, 16, 313 
Adulteration, drug, 324 
Albuminuria, 261 
Alcohol, 68 

Amyl, 91 

Denatured, 83, 339 

Denatured, special formulas, 89 

Ethyl, 70, 71 

Ethyl, how obtained, 71 

Grain (see ethyl) 

Isopropyl, 90 

Methyl, 71, 88 

Methyl, how obtained, 87 

Narcotic properties of, 206 

Wood, 87 
Alexander of Tralles, 21 
Aloes, 15 
Ammonia, 24 
Amyl nitrite, 92 
Anaphylaxis, 307 
Anemia, 261 
Antimony, 12 
Anti-Narcotic Law, 320, 332 

Effect on proprietary medicine 
industry, 129 
Antipyrin, 211 
Antitoxin, 166, 173 

Diphtheria, manufacture of, 174 

Unit, 176 

Lockjaw, 177 

Pneumonia, 177 

Tuberculosis, 177 

Reptile poison, 177 



Arsenic, 12 
Asclepias, 19 
Aspirin, 124, 211 
Asthma, 311 
Atropin, 9, 14 

B 

Balard, 24 

Balsam, Peru, 156 

Baskerville, Chas., 238 

Bath salts, 285 

Beal, James Hartley, 45 

Behring, 174 

Belladonna, 14 

Cultivation of, 103, 114 
Beri-beri, 183 
Berzelius, 23 
Bhang, 219 
Biliousness, 268 
Biological Survey, 341 
Bismuth, 11 
Black, 23 

Bleach, complexion, 294 
Bloodroot, 153 
Boericke & Tafel, 57 
Boneset, 155 
Boos, W. F., 231 
Bright's disease, 261 
Brockdon, William, 54 
Bromides, physiological properties 

of, 209 
Bromo Seltzer, 40 
Brucin, Toxicity of, 86 

Use in denatured alcohol, 85 
Burroughs Brothers, 33 
Bust-developer, 300 



351 



Cacao, 228 
Butter, 300 



352 



INDEX 



Caffein, 9 

Physiological action of, 214 
Calory, Definition of, 180 

In relation to dietary require- 
ments, 199 
Camphor, 9, 15 

Production of, in Florida, 103, 
110 
Cancer, 261 

Radium cures (fraudulent), 
325, 330 
Cannabasis, 217 

Physiological properties of, 207 
Capsicum pepper, production of, 

103 
Capsule, filling machine, 61 
Capsules, gelatin, manufacture of, 

60 
Cascara sagrada, 16, 156 
Castor oil, 9 

Caswell, Hazard & Co., 57 
Caventou, 24 
Carter, J. S., 41 

Little Liver Pills, 41 
Caspari, Charles Jr., 44 

Charles E., 44 
Cavendish, 23 
Chancroid, 261 
Charas, 219 
Chaulmoogra oil, 10, 157 

Use in leprosy, 158 
Chemist, origin of present term, 

23 
Chemists, Control work in manu- 
facturing plants, 66 

Manufacturing, 27 
Chesterton, G. K., 242 
Chloroform, Discovery of, 24 

Physiological properties of, 210 
Chloral, 208 
Chloretone, 207 
Cholera, 261 
Chorea, 261 
Cinchona, 13 

Coca, 13, 157, 206, 221, 227 
Coca, its use by the prehistoric 

Incas, 18 
Coca Cola, 213 



Cocaine, 9, 206 

Discovery of, 24 

Effect of habitual use of, 232 

Preparation of, 228 - 
Cocoa butter, 228 
Codein, 206, 222, 223 
Cohosh, Black, 154 

Blue, 154 
Cola, 157 
Cold, 264 
Cologne, 302 
Constipation, 269 
Convention, The Hague, 236 
Corn-removers, 301 
Coryza, 26(4 
Courtois, 24 
Cousins, W. H., 126 
Crampton, Charles A., 92 
Cream, Cold, 292 

Cold, manufacture of, 61 

Complexion, 292 

Disappearing, 292 

Freckle, 284 

Greaseless, 292 

Peroxide, 293 
Cuticle softener, 298 



Dalton, 23 

Dandruff removers, 289 
Davis, George S., 32 
Depilatories, 283, 295 
Dermacentor venustus, 259 
Diabetes, 261 
Diastase, 72 
Digitalis, 15 

Cultivation of, 116 

Virginia leaf, 116 
Dioscorides, 19 
Diphtheria, 261 

Antitoxin, 174 
Distillation, early practice of, 93 
Dohme, Louis, 32 

Charles E., 32 
Dope, definition of, 204 
Doran, James M., 82, 225 
Dow Chemical Co., 29 



INDEX 



353 



Drug addiction, Extent of, 233 

Future status of, 235 
Drug adulteration, 324 
Drug importations, present char- 
acter, 325 
Drug collecting, 26 

In the United States, 149 
Drug merchants, crude, 26 
Drug trade, factors in, 25 
Drugs, Classification of, 7 

Cultivation of, 98, 105 

Definition of, 4 

Sources of, 11 

Vegetable, extent of use of, 147 

Vegetable, uses in prehistoric 
times, 145 
Druggist, origin of present term, 
23 

Wholesale, 43 
Duffield, Samuel P., 32 
Dunton, Jacob, 54 
Dyes, Complexion, 291 

Hair, 284, 289 
Dysentery, 261 
Dyspepsia, 268 



E 



Eberle, Eugene L., 44 
Emerson, Isaac, 40 

William E. P., 199 
Emulsions, manufacture of, 63 
England, Joseph W., 44 
Epilepsy, 261 
Epsom salt, 13 
Ergot, 16 
Erysipelas, 261 

Ether, Administration by enema, 
238 

First use as anaesthetic, 24 

Habitual use of, 210 

How made, 81 
Ewing, C. 0., 149 
Extract, Flavoring, 47 

Fluid, manufacture of, 47 

Solid, 50 
Eyebrow pencil, 295 
Eykman, 182 



Fermentation, Early practice of, 
93 

Modern, 95 
Fly, house, 250 
Food value, 180 
Food and Drugs Act, 320, 322 

Effect on the proprietary medi- 
cine industry, 127 
Fraser, H., 182 
Freckle creams, 284 
Frederick II, 21 
Fringe bush, 154 
Fuller, Robert M., 57 
Funk, Casimir, 183 
Fusel oil, 91 



G 



Galen, 20 

Ganga, 219 

Gardeke 24 

Garrison, F. H., 145, 243, 246 

Gentian, 16 

Germany, as a drug center, 5 

Ginger, wild, 153 

Ginseng, Constituents of, 160 

Cultivation of, 119 

Early use by Chinese, 16, 18 
Globules, gelatin, manufacture of, 

58 
Glycerin, as a substitute for al- 
cohol, 78 
Goldenrod, 308, 312 
Golden-seal (see Hydrastis) 
Gonorrhea, 261, 263 
Gout, 266 

Guthrie, Samuel, 24 
Gwathmey, J. T., 238 



Habit-forming, definition of term, 

205 
Hague Convention, 236 



354 



INDEX 



Hair, 287 

Dyes, 284, 289 

Powders, 290 

Tonics, 289 

Washes, 283 
Hansen, 95 
Hare, Hobart A., 207, 209, 215, 

220 
Hashish, 217 
Hatcher, Robert, 116 
Hay fever, 305 

Vaccine inoculation against, 
172, 315 
Haywood, J. K., 321 
Headache, 264 
Hemp, Indian, 154 
Henbane, cultivation of, 113 
Henna, 290 
Heroin, 206, 224 
Hilton, Samuel L., 44 
Hippocrates, 19 
Homberg, 24 
Homer, 19 

Hood's Sarsaparilla, 42 
Howard, L. O., 253 
Hydrophobia, anti-rabic vaccine 

in, 170 
Humbug oil, 325 
Hydrastis, 16, 101 
Hygiene, personal, 248 
Hyoscin, 206 
Hypnotics, 208 



I 



Indian tobacco, 154 

Indigestion, 267 

Infantile paralysis, 261 

Influenza, 261 

Insecticide and Fungicide Law, 

320, 321, 329 
Iodine, 11, 

Discovery of, 24 
Ipecac, 16 



Jenner, Edward, 167 
Johnson & Johnson, 114 



Kebler, Lyman F., 54, 211, 331 
Kilgore, Charles, 54 
Kilmer, F. B., 114 
Kremers, Edward, 44 



Lantz, D. E., 260 

Laudanum, 23 

Lavoisier, 23 

Law, Anti-Narcotic, 129, 320, 332 
Food and Drugs, 127, 320, 332 
Volstead, 130, 320, 334 
Insecticide and Fungicide, 320, 
321, 329 

LaWall, Charles H., 44 

Leprosy, use of Chaulmoogra oil 
in, 158 

Leukemia, 261 

Licorice root, 14 

Liebig, 24 

Lilly, Eli, 33 

Lipstick, 295 

Lloyd, John Uri, 32, 44, 147, 187 

Lobelia inflata, 154 
Syphilitica, 155 

Lockjaw, 176 



M 



Madjoon, 219 

Maisch, John, 44 

Malaria, 253 

Malet, John W., 205 

Mallinckrodt, 28 

Mandrake, 16, 141, 153 

Manicuring accessories, 298 

Materia medica, definition, 19 

May-apple (see Mandrake) 

Measles, 261 

Medical Association, American, 

263 
Medicine, Ancient Greek, 19 

Early Egyptian, 20 

Factory, modern, 34 



INDEX 



355 



Medicines, How made, 46 

Proprietary, 123 

Proprietary, origin of industry, 
37 
Mendel, L. B., 182 
Menecrates, 21 
Meningitis, 261 
Menthol, 9 
Merck, 28 
Mercury, 12 
Merrill, William S., 31 
Methyl salicylate, 144 
Monsanto Chemical Co., 29 
Morgan, F. P., 211 
Morphin, 9, 24, 206, 222 

Discovery of, 24 

Effect of habitual use of, 231 
Mosquito, 253 
Mouse, 257 

Mulford, Henry K., 33' 
Mumps, 262 

Mc 

McCollum, E. V., 182 
McKesson & Robbins 33 



N 



Narcotic, definition of, 205 
Narcotic drugs, extent of traffic 

in, 229 
National Formulary, 77 
Nephritis, 261 
Neuralgia, 267 
Neuritis, 266 
New York Quinine and Chemical 

Co., 28 
Nutrition, vitamines in relation 

to, 198 
Nux vomica, 16 



Oil, American wormseed produc- 
tion, 104 
Castor, 9 

Chaulmoogra, 10, 157 
Cod liver, 16, 195 



Fusel, 91 

Peppermint, production of, 112 

Spearmint, production of, 112 

Theobroma, 300 

Wintergreen, 143 

Wintergreen, artificial, 144 
Ointment, manufacture of, 61 
Opium, 13 

Preparations of, 206 

Production of, 221 

Smoking, 224 

Smuggling of, 239 
Osborne, T. B., 182 



Paracelsus, 23 
Parke, Hervey C, 32 
Parish, Edward, 44 
Paste, Nail, 299 

Tooth, 296 
Pasteur, 95 

Treatment, 171 
Patch, Edgar L., 33 
Patent medicines (see Proprietary 

medicines) 
Pellagra, 191 
Pelletier, 24 
Pepsin, 16 
Perfume, 302 

Perspiration preventives, 283, 297 
Pests, household, in relation to 

public health, 250 
Pfizer, 28 
Pharmacopoeia, 77 
Pharmacists, manufacturing, 31 
Phenacetin, 211 
Physicians' supply houses, 42 
Piedmont, 151 
Pierce, R. V., 42 
Pills, Coating of, 52 

Manufacture of, 51 
Pinkham, Lydia E., 39 
Pituri, 157 
Plague, bubonic, 258 
Pleurisy root, 154 
Pneumonia, 261 
Polish, Nail, 298 






356 



INDEX 



Pollen, as an excitant in hay fe- 
ver, 307 
Poly neuritis, 185 
Postal regulations, 318, 329 
Powder, 290 
Body, 291 
Facial, 291 
Foot, 301 
Hair, 290 
Tooth, 296 
Power, Frederick B., 158, 161 
Powers - Weightman - Rosengarten 

Co., 29 
Prescott, Albert B., 44 
Priestley, 23, 24 
Principles, active, of natural drugs, 

142 
Proctor, William, 44 
Prohibition Law (see Volstead 

Act) 
Proprietary Association, require- 
ments of, 131 
Proprietary medicines, 123, 326 
Character of, 136, 139 
How made, 64 
Origin of industry, 37 
Public Health Service, 178, 340 
Pure Food Law (See Food and 
Drugs Act) 



Quinin, 9 



R 



Radium cancer cure, 325 

Ragweed, 308 

Ragwort, golden, 153 

Rats, 257 

Remington, Joseph P., 44 

Reptile poison, use of antitoxin 

against, 177 
Rheumatism, 265 
Rhubarb, 16 

Rice, in relation to beri-beri, 184 
Rock, Joseph, 159 
Rodents, in relation to public 

health, 257 



Rosenau, M. J., 200 
Rupp, P., 211 
Rusby, Henry H., 44 



S. S. S., 37 

Saffron, 110 

Sage, cultivation of, 117 

St. Vitus dance, 261 

Sanguinaria canadensis, 153 

Santonin, 5, 162 

Saponin, 288 

Sarsaparilla, 16 

Sayre, Lucius E., 44 

Scarlet fever, 261 

Schaefer Alkaloid Works, 29 

Scheele, 23 

Schenck's Mandrake Pills, 39 

Syrup, 38 
Schieffelin, 33 
Scurvy, 189 
Seguin, 24 

Seidell, Atherton, 186, 201 
Seidell's activated solid of vita- 
mines, 187, 194 
Self -medication, 242, 261 
Senna, 16 
Serturner, 24 
Serum, 166, 173 

Antitetanic, 176 

Anti venom, 177 

Diphtheria, 174 

Legislation affecting, 340 

Lockjaw, 176 
Serum therapy, 173 
Shampoo soap, 288 
Sharp, Alpheus E., 32 
Sherley Amendment, 324 
Skin food, 292, 300, 325 
Smallpox, 167 

Vaccine, 168 
Smuggling of opiates, 239 
Snakeroot, Canada, 153 
Soap, 286 

Peroxide, 287 

Shampoo, 288 
Soap bark, 288 
Soubeiran, 24 



INDEX 



357 



Spotted fever, Rocky Mountain, 

259 
Squibb, E. R., 32, 44 
Stanford, E. E., 149 
Stanton, E. T., 182 
Stearns, Frederick, 32 
Stockberger, Warner W. } 44, 102 
Stramonium, 155 
Strychnin, 9 

Use as a toxic agent, 86 
Sulphonal, 209 
Sulzer, Louis, 26 
Sunburn, 29 
Suprarenal gland, 16 
Surgery, in ancient and medieval 

times-, 21 
Synthetic remedies, 8 
Syphilis, 261, 263 



Tablets, 54 

Compressed, manufacture of, 55 

Triturates, manufacture of, 57 
Takamine, J., 314 
Talc, 290 

Tea, Cultivation of, in South Car- 
olina, 103 
Tetanus (Lockjaw), 176, 261 
Thayer, Henry, 32 
Tick, in relation to spread of 
Rocky Mountain spotted fe- 
ver, 259 
Tilden, Henry A., 31 
Tincture, 47 

Toilet, accessories of, 281 
Toilet water, 302 
Tonic laxatives, 336 
Tooth paste, 296 

Manufacture of, 62 
Toxalbumin, 307 
True, Rodney H., 102 
Tuberculosis, 261 
Turkey corn, 153 
Typhoid, 261 

Vaccine inoculation against, 171 



U 



Ulcers, 261 



United Drug Co., 36 
Upjohn, 33 
Uremia, 261 



Vaccination, 167 
Vaccine, Antirabic, 170 

Autogenous, 171 

Bacterial, 171 

Definition, 166 

Hay fever, 172, 315 

Legislation affecting, 340 

Smallpox, manufacture of, 168 
Venom, 177 
Veronal, 208 
Vitamine, Fat soluble A, 192, 195 

Water soluble B, 188 

Water soluble C, 189 
Vitamines, 179, 183 

Activated solid of, 187, 194 
Volstead Act, 320, 334 

Effect on proprietary medicine 
industry, 130 



W 



Wagon trade, 42 

Warner, William R., 33 

Washington Biologists Field Club, 
151 

Wellcome, Henry S., 161 

Wellcome Chemical Research Lab- 
oratories, 158 

Wells, H. G., 93 

Wheeler, Wayne B., 320 

Whelpley, Henry M., 44 

Whisky, fusel oil in, 93 

White Mountains, 312 

Wilbert, Martin L, 44, 220, 242, 
244, 246 

Wild cherry, 16 

Wiley, Harvey W., 44, 128, 179, 
199, 301, 320 

Williams, R. R., 201 

Wormseed, Levant, 6, 162 
Cultivation of, 163 

Wright, Hamilton, 236, 320 

Wulling, Frederick, 44 

Wyeth, John, 32, 54 



358 INDEX 

Y Use in producing alcohol, 95 

Yeast, As a source of vitamines, Z 

186 
Species producing fermentation, Zinc oxide, 291 
95 Zinc stearate, 291 



<3£ 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



0002^11453 



